Making a suit bag

Some time ago, while browsing Pinterest, I realized that men’s suits could be a good source of interesting fabric. So I bought some old suit coats from Goodwill (I received nothing for this mention). I laid them aside while I decided how I would use them.

I browsed Pinterest (I received nothing for this mention) for ideas that I could use. Nothing struck me as interesting. So the suit coats stayed where they were. Finally, an idea on Pinterest caught my eye. I liked the idea of the product, but I didn’t like the way they made it.

Here’s what I did to make my suit bag:

1. Separate the front from the back at the back of the collar by ripping the seam

2. Remove the back, shoulder pads, and sleeves by ripping the seams

3. Remove the linings by ripping the seams

4. Decide on the shape of the bag, and cut to that shape

5. Cut the back to the same shape as the front

6. Stabilize the fabric for the back, sides, and bottom

7. Cut the shirt to the correct size and shape

8. Sew the front and back of the shirt together to make a pocket

9. Baste the shirt to the suit front

10. Sew the top of the shirt to the top of the coat at the back suit collar

11. Grade the shirt seams

12. Cut and sew the belt to form the shoulder strap

13. Sew the outer layer

14. Hand baste the seam allowances on the coat layer so that they would permanently lay flat

15. Sew buttons to the front coat layer for stability

16. Apply the magnetic snap

17. Stabilize the lining

18. Sew the lining

19. Hand sew the lining to the outer bag

20. Create support for the bottom of the bag by:

Cutting stabilizer

Cutting and sewing the outer layer

Insert stabilizer into sewn unit

Hand sew final seam

Fuse stabilizer

21. Cut and hand sew pocket handkerchief

All in all, I had a blast sewing this up. It tickled my fancy. Additional features include: a fully adjustable shoulder strap, six exterior pockets, and two interior pockets.

As usual, notification that the product is ready for sale goes to our “First Chance” mailing list first. If no one on the list wishes to purchase it, it will be listed in our Etsy store one week later.