Experience the beauty of jac-

quard batik fabrics from Ghana by

stitching up a classy color-block
bag, complete with a beaded zipper
pull and brass accent. For more
detailed information on making
quilts see the AQS Quiltmaking
Essentials & Tested Tips at www.
AmericanQuilter.com.
Preparing the bag front and back
Set aside one A piece for the
handle tabs. Using a " seam, join
6 A pieces for the bag front and
6 for the back (g. 1). Press seam
allowances open as you go.
Place the bag front right-side
down on the ironing board. Position
the batting fusible-side down over
the bag front so that three edges
line up and one long edge of the
bag front extends
5
8" beyond the
edge of the batting. Following man-
ufacturers directions, fuse the bat-
ting to the fabric. Fold the extra
fabric over the edge of the batting
and press. Repeat for the bag back.
Quilt the bag front and back as
desired. I quilted rectangles
inside each square patch, and
then quilted lines between the
quilted rectangles. Add beads
and other embellishments as
desired, taking care to keep
the area for the handles and
tabs clear.
Assembling the bag
Place the closed zipper
right-side up on the table.
Position the bag front and
back also right-sides up
over the zipper, so that the pressed
edges of the pieces just meet at the
middle of the zipper. Pin to secure.
Using a zipper foot, sew along each
side of the zipper. To do this, start
stitching " from the edge of a bag
piece. Backstitch, then stitch along
the zipper
1
8" from the teeth. Stop
the stitching " from the end of the
bag, and backstitch.
Fold the remaining A piece in
thirds lengthwise, and fuse the layers
closed with a small piece of fusible
web. Cut the folded strip in half to
make two tabs measuring about 2
3
8"
x 3". Loosely wrap a tab around
each handle. Turn under the raw
edges and join the edges by hand or
machine. Position the handles on the
bag front and back, about 1" below
the zipper. Using a zipper foot, sew
Color Block City Bag
by Lisa Shepard Stewart
Make 2
A A A
A A A
Fig. 1
Color Block Tote Bag, 19" x 12", by Lisa Shepard
Stewart. Photo: Trish Eberlein.