Sew up a cute little bag to fit inside your purse - voila! Organized purse! This easy sewing projects has lots of pockets and uses easy to find and inexpensive felt so you can make one in every color.

by admin August 13, 2021

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Or you could use this cute little felt bag all by itself to carry your favorite sewing tools to guild meeting.

There are two exterior pockets with pleats for more dimension, and two pockets on the inside too.

The pockets are all a double layer of felt to make them durable and sturdy. And the top portion of the bag is 3 layers of felt, which makes it possible to simply cut the handle open.

It’s the easiest bag handle ever!

DIY Felt Purse Organizer - free sewing pattern

To make this easy sewing project, you will need:

1/4 yard of craft felt that is at least 72’’ wide (most brands of inexpensive felt are that wide)

coordinating thread

2 snaps (optional - I used Kam snaps)

seam roll (optional)

pencil and fabric marking pen

rotary cutter and cutting mat

Cut the following pieces of felt:

1 rectangle 9’’ x 20’’ (bag exterior)

2 rectangles 10’’ x 7’’ (exterior pockets)

1 rectangle 8 3/4’’ x 17’’ (bag interior)

2 rectangles 9’’ x 5’’ (interior pockets)

Prepare the bag pieces:

1. Fold the larger bag exterior and interior rectangles in half with the short ends together.

2. Use a pencil or fabric pen to draw lines to cut out the bottom corners as seen above. The horizontal line should extend 1 1/4’’ in from the side. The vertical line should extend 1’’ up from the bottom fold.

bag exterior piece

bag interior piece

3. Draw lines and cut out both bottom corners on the exterior bag piece and the interior bag piece as seen above.

Set the large pieces aside for now.

Prepare the pockets:

1. Fold each pocket piece in half with the shorter ends together.

2. Topstitch all the way around each folded pocket piece to make a double layer pocket. You’ll have two larger pockets for the bag exterior and two smaller pockets for the bag interior.

3. On the larger exterior pockets, fold each 5’’ tall side over by 1/2’’ and pin. Topstitch 1/8’’ away from each side edge to make the dimensional pockets.

Attach the Pockets:

1. Open up the folded bag exterior piece. Pin the side edge of one of the dimensional pockets to the bag exterior as seen above.

The side edge of the pocket should be 1 1/2’’ away from the side of the bag and 1/2’’ above the corner cut out.

2. Stitch along the side edge - sewing right on top of your topstitching.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 above to pin and sew the other side of the pocket in place. It should also be 1 1/2’’ from the side edge and 1/2’’ above the corner cut out.

3. Flatten the pocket at the bottom, making two small pleats at the corners. Pin.

4. Stitch across the bottom of the pocket, sewing on top of the topstitching and sewing down the pleats at the same time.

Repeat to sew the remaining dimensional pocket to the other side of the bag as seen above.

Note: the pockets should have their open edges facing the short ends.

5. Now let’s sew pockets to the bag interior.

Pin a flat pocket to the bag interior piece as seen above. It should be centered and 1/2’’ above the corner cut outs.

Stitch around the side and bottom edges of the pocket, sewing on top of your topstitching.

6. Repeat to sew the remaining flat pocket to the other side of the bag interior.

Note: the pockets should have their open edges facing the short ends.

Assemble the Bag:

1. Fold the bag exterior piece in half again, with the short ends together and the pockets on the inside (facing each other). Pin the sides together.

2. Stitch the sides with a 1/4’’ seam allowance.

Press the seams open with a warm iron (too hot and you’ll melt the felt - unless you are using 100% wool felt).

Tip: using a seam roll is not required, but it helps a lot for small items like this.

3. Box the corners by flattening the side of the bag against the bottom. Pin. Stitch with a 1/4’’ seam allowance.

bag exterior

bag interior

4. Turn the bag exterior right side out - it looks great!

Repeat steps 1-3 above to sew the sides and box the corners of the bag interior. Don’t turn it right side out.

5. Place the bag interior inside the exterior. Take a few minutes to work it all the way down to the bottom, aligning the bottom corners and the side seams.

Make the Top Edge of the Bag and Handle

1. Fold the top edge of the bag exterior down over the bag lining. It should fold down evenly about 1 1/2’’ all the way around and make 3 layers of felt around the top of the bag. Pin all the way around with as many pins as you need.

2. Place the bag over the free-arm of your sewing machine (if possible) and topstitch 1/4’’ (or a little bit more) from the top edge.

Tip: The placement of your topstitched lines can vary according to your preference. On my fuchsia bag, I topstitched exactly 1/4’’ from the top edge, with my other lines 1/4’’ apart. On this turquoise bag, I spaced my topstitching out a little bit more.

3. Sew 3 more rows of topstitching, each 1/4’’ apart (or a little bit more) until you have 4 rows of topstitching.

4. Use your fabric marker (I used a Frixion pen that disappears with a warm iron) to make a small line vertical in the middle of the topstitching, 2’’ from each side seam. Make 4 marks total, 2 on each side of the bag.

Sew back and forth along all the little lines to prevent the ends of the cut out pockets from tearing open further.

5. Place the corner of your cutting mat (or a piece of thick cardboard) inside the bag.

Use a rotary cutter to slice open the pocket. Finish with scissors to ensure you don’t cut through the stitching.

6. Mark the placement of your snaps half-way in between the side seams and the pockets. Apply the snaps to both sides of the organizer using the instructions for your preferred snap setter.

All done! Make sure you show me your finished felt purse organizers by tagging me @sewcanshe on Instagram!

I’m going to save this tutorial on my Crafty Little Things to Sew pattern page.

You might also like the Handy Purse Organizer pattern that I made using regular fabric.

Happy sewing!