Week One of the Always Up Sling Bag sew along

May 27, 2025: Welcome to the first week of the sew along! Each week I’ll share some tips about the bag. First up is stabilizers, if you’re not quilting your fabric. I made a version with this amazing Charley Harper squid fabric. It’s barkcloth, so thicker than quilting cotton, but not quite as heavy weight as canvas.

To give the bag a little structure, I used Pellon 971F Fusible Thermolam Plus. It’s easy to use and gave a nice heft to the barkcloth. I found it to be the same thickness as low loft 80/20 or all cotton batting. By being able to iron it on I didn’t have to quilt through the beautiful fabric design.

For the lining, I used regular quilting cotton, backed with Pellon SF101 shape-flex. This was just to give it a little structure, too.

One note- on the inside of the front pocket you’ll see the interfacing of the lining. I didn’t really want that, so I made an extra panel A of lining fabric, and attached it around the edges to a lining fabric panel A, creating a double sided lining panel. Use this panel in step 3 of “Sewing Instructions, -Front Panel”.

If you are quilting your fabric, you could always do a double layer of batting to give it a little more structure. Some thicker stabilizers like Pellon Flex Foam or by Annie’s Soft and Stable may be a little too rigid for a bag like this. I would save those for a tote bag (which I have coming soon!). But if you’re really curious to try it out, do so and let me know how it goes!

Next week we’ll cut out our pieces (use the handy labels in the pattern to keep your pieces straight), and make the zippered pocket panels and gusset. It really is easy! If you’re anxious and want to move ahead with your bag, go for it! We’ll still be here to share in your success and offer any tips you may need. See you soon!

Update- The Sew Along has now completed