Chiara Chiarel

Now, I know nothing about embroidery so this doesn’t go into the gorgeous work op did, but if you want to try sewing a more basic petal bag, this is what worked for me. My pattern is in inches, apologies to y’all who prefer cm. Also, I chose fabrics that are finicky and don’t like being ironed so i didn’t press my seams. If I had, my flower would look a lot more symmetrical. Don’t be like me! Press in between each step! Also, always make sure to backstitch at the start and end of every seam. I’m holding your hand as we journey together.

Materials:

Approx. 1/4 yard of woven (non-stretch) fabric for each:

Outside of the flower (petals and base)

Inside of the flower (petals and base)

Outside of drawstring pouch

Inside of drawstring pouch

This should allow leftover fabric for pockets

Topstitching thread (& cheaper plain thread if you want to save a couple bucks)

Scissors, pins, fabric marking tool

Protractor, ruler, & compass if you’re drafting your own pattern. Printed version of mine if you’re not

2x 72” drawstring (I used leather shoelaces). Drawstring sliders

<7” “invisible” zipper (optional)

5 snaps (optional)

1/8 yd interfacing or reinforcing fabric (optional, if your fabric is delicate and you’re using snaps)

Pattern:

I used a 5/8 inch seam allowance because it works well with my machine. You can use whatever seam allowance you like. Also, it’s easy to adjust these to change the final size of the bag if you like, just make sure the ratios stay the same.

Base:

Cut 1 outer and 1 inner.

A pentagon with 4” sides. The inner angle of the pentagon should be 108°. Add seam allowance coming off each side but without including the corners - basically, just extend each intersecting line by 5/8” outside the body of the pentagon and use that to create tabs for your seam allowance. This cuts down on bulk. If that’s too complicated, just leave the corners on and you’ll end up with a pentagon with sides that are 5.25” long (4” + 5/8 + 5/8 ‎ = 5.25”). If you plan to use snaps later, it’s worth cutting out an extra pentagon of interfacing and ironing on the wrong side of one piece before starting.

Petal:

Cut 5 outer and 5 inner.

Basically a teardrop shape with a flat bottom. The bottom should match the length of one side of your pentagon (NOT including seam allowance). Mine has a 4” base and is 8” tall, and 6” at its widest point (again, not including seam allowance). I added twin notches where I want the drawstring to pass through, about 1cm apart, nearish the top of the petal. You could skip that and attach little hoops for the drawstring to pass through like op did. I also added notches that helped me place pockets. You have total freedom with pockets, so plan them any way you like.

Pockets:

Cut however many you want, outer and/or inner.

I made 3 kinds of pockets. A large, a small, and a pencil pocket. For the lg and sm, I traced the petal and cut the top off, ensuring the shape and notches would automatically match. For the pencil pocket, it’s just a rectangle with a notch at the center bottom. I gave myself a 1” hem allowance at the top of all pockets. Your pockets should overlap the petal similar to this:

Drawstring pouch:

Cut 1 outer and 1 inner

This is just a circle. The dimensions should line up so that if you place the pentagon base in the center of your circle and then align one petal at one side of the pentagon, the tip of the petal should just reach the perimeter of your circle. This piece also gets a 5/8” s.a. so you can use the s.a. at the tip of your petal to account for that. Just make sure the s.a. of your pentagon and the bottom of your petal are not also included. You can draft your own circle by lining up the petal & pentagon pattern pieces, measuring that length, then folding a big piece of paper into eighths and measuring that length against one side of the paper. Cut it out so it’s shaped like a pizza slice and you should end up with a circle that’s more or less the right size. Or use a compass to make it perfect. If you plan to use snaps later, it’s worth cutting out a 7” diameter circle of interfacing and ironing it in the center of one of the circles.

Here’s how your aligned pieces should look:

Pre-work and drawstring pouch instructions in post 2!