This peg bag project was designed by Helen Rhiannon from All Sewn Up Wales.
Everyone needs a peg bag in their life so why not have a go making your own? They will make a perfect gift for someone if not yourself! It is a very simple project and should take you around an hour at the most. You also don’t need a lot of fabric so it is a great mini project.
Supplies
Fabric – 2-4 fat quarters depending how much variety in prints you want. I used 1 for the exterior, 1 for the lining and 1 for the binding.
Children’s wooden coat hanger from Ikea or similar sized child’s coat hanger.
Fabric Scissors
Pins
Unpicker
Matching thread
Sewing Machine – Straight stitch length 2.5; Zig Zag Length 2.5 and Width 4 (or use an overlocker if you have one)
Templates (print A4) – One – Two– Three
Stage 1 – Cutting out your peg bag project
Lay fabric out with any patterns facing up. Lay your pattern pieces onto the fabric as instructed and place the edge of the pattern on the fold of the fabric where necessary. Keep the ‘grainline’ in line with the natural straight edge of the fabric.
Stage 2 – Preparing and sewing the Bias Binding
Iron the bias binding fabric flat and then press half a centimetre of fabric into the centre on both sides. Then fold the piece in half lengthways and press again with some steam.
Get your top front piece. Place the right side of the fabric facedown to the table. You will have the wrong side facing up at you.
Position the edge of the bias binding alongside the edge of the front top piece with the wrong side of the bias binding facing up at you. Be careful not to stretch the edges whilst you pin or clip the edges together.
Repeat for the front bottom piece.
You will now sew along the crease of the fabric which is 5mm from the edge of the bias binding.
TIP – Make sure your needle is in the central position and then you can normally place the edge of your foot alongside the edge of the fabrics and this should be roughly 5mm from the edge when sewing. Check to be sure! I’m using a very marrow foot so mine doesn’t align with the edge. Be careful not to pull your fabric through as it may stretch.
Flip your front pieces over so the right side of the fabric is facing you. Fold the bias binding over the raw edge to the right side of the fronts. Make sure the edge of the bias binding is sitting over the row of stitching by a few millimetres and pin (or clip) in place.
Sew along the edge of the bias binding approximately 2mm from the edge. Press well when finished.
Stage 3 – Sewing the fronts to the backs
Get your two backs out next. With the back piece which you will see from the front through the gap, place right side facing down to the table. Then get the back piece which you will see from the back of the peg bag (this will show right way up through the gap in your peg bag as above). Place on top with the right side facing up towards you.
Then get the front bottom piece and place face down onto the back pieces, matching the corners. Then do the same for the front top piece by matching the top part of the peg bag. This pieces you will see the back of the fabric as shown in the photo above.
Pin or Wonder clip the whole way around. Be sure to mark a small gap in the top centre for the coat hanger to poke through. I have marked a small notch at the top of the pattern piece, either side of the centre, which you can mark on the fabric using a pencil or tailors chalk. I used a red Wonderclip here to remind me to leave a gap.
Sew a 1cm seam allowance the whole way around, apart from the top centre gap.
Stage 4 – Neatening the peg bag
Set your machine to zig zag and stitch the whole way around the peg bag to neaten the edges. Overlock if you have an overlocker or overlock stitch on your machine (as I did in the photo). Unpick a few of the threads at the top centre to allow the hanger to poke through still.
Stage 5 – Pressing and finishing your peg bag
Turn the peg bag through and poke the corners out. Press the peg bag with a bit of steam. Poke your coat hanger through and push it up into place. I couldn’t resist sharing this photo with the cute photobomber!
And you have finished your first fabulous peg bag. Yes, it was that quick and simple! Please let me know how you get on making your own and if you have any questions, then please just get in touch!
Do share pictures on my Facebook fanpage as I love to see what everyone makes.
Thanks! Helen @AllSewnUp
Useful Pattern Adjustments
If you want to make your peg bag longer, just add onto the bottom of the back pattern piece and exactly the same amount onto the front bottom piece.
If you choose to use a different shape hanger, you just need to re draw the top part of the peg bag to fit the correct width and shape.
