Little Freehand Clear Vinyl Hack

Hey bag makers! If you have been to a concert or sporting event in the last couple of years, you will know that many stadiums are asking for you to carry clear bags for safety reasons. When I went to a concert last month, I decided to make my own to coordinate with my outfit. Sewing with clear vinyl proved to be a little bit of an adventure, so to save you the hassle of my struggles, I have put together all the steps you need to make your own! So follow the steps below to make your very own clear vinyl Little Freehand Pack!

Not familiar with the Little Freehand Pack pattern? Not to worry! You can find it here!

Note: The Little Freehand Pack was within my stadium bag measurement requirements but please make sure to check with the stadium you are visiting first!

What you will need:

• The Little Freehand Pack pattern 
• Masking Tape or Painters Tape
• Wonderclips
• Sharpie or pen that can write on vinyl
• Sharp pointed scissor or exacto knife
• #5 nylon single pull zipper – 18” (45cm)
• One coordinating dress/all purpose zipper – 6” (15cm)

For the Strap:

• 1 inch buckle and slider
• 8-10” (20-25cm) of Strap Webbing
• 1 piece of fabric 5 1/2” x 4” (14cm x 10cm)
• 1 piece interfacing 5 1/2” x 2” (14cm x 5 cm)
• Fabric, interfacing and fleece for one backpack strap

Out of Clear Vinyl cut:

• 2 Zipper Top Panels: 15”x 3” (38cm x 7.6cm)
• Bottom Panel: 18” x 4” (46 cm x 10cm)
• Font and Bag Main Panel
• Outer Zipper Pocket

You will also need 65” (165cm) of 2 1/4” (5.7cm) bias binding. You can follow the tutorial How to Cut and Join Bias Strips to create it. Regular binding will not be smooth, so make sure you create binding that is cut on the bias and stretches. 

Fold your binding in half and press well. Set aside for now.

Important note before we begin!!

Sewing clear vinyl can be an adventure. When you first start, aim for a weight under 10g. The higher the weight and thickness, the harder it will be to ease the gusset. ALWAYS test your tension on a scrap piece before you begin. A higher weight and thickness will need a MUCH MUCH higher upper thread tension! Every vinyl you work with will be different so always test! Thank you to our tester Ashley of Beam Creative for this tip!

Let’s dive in!

For a crossbody style that’s similar to the trendy way to carry hip bags, I made a small adjustment to the bag to carry it that way! To find the best measurement for this style of carrying, measure from your shoulder to the opposite hip and double it!

Take that measurement and subtract 10” (25.4cm) (the height of the bag).

Now subtract 5 1/2” (14cm) (length of connector and buckle closed).

This measurement is your backpack strap length. For me, that worked out to the medium backpack strap length. 

Create your backpack strap following Step 31 Backpack Option in the pattern using the webbing in place of the adjusters. Add an extra row of stitching 1/2” (1.3cm) from the edge of your topstitch to secure the webbing in place.

Add your slider to the webbing.

Add on the male side of the buckle.

Turn over and slide the end of the webbing into the back of the slider.

For the Strap Connector

Fold your fabric in half. Fold the long edges to the middle and fold in half again. Open and fuse interfacing in place. Topstitch with 1/8” (0.3cm) seam allowance.

Slide on the male side of the buckle and fold in half. Stitch in place using two rows of stitching to secure in place.

Clip to your strap piece.

Find the middle at the top and bottom of your front outer panel. Place the strap and connector at these points and secure in place with a 1/4” (0.6cm) seam allowance.

Set aside for now.

For the Front Outer Pocket

Draw your box in place following the measurements in Step 14: Creating Your Front and Back Panels using a thin sharpie or pen. This will be our cut line so make sure it’s easy to see!

Mark your pocket placement line using a wash away marker or a piece of tape on your front panel.

Tape your outer zipper pocket in place.

Following that box that we drew earlier, cut out your zipper pocket box. Using an Exacto knife is the easiest way to do it. You can use a small rotary cutter, but use thread snips for the corners and small edge!

Tape your zipper in place. Flipping it over to ensure that it is in the correct spot. You can alternatively use double-sided tape for this but know that the tape will be seen!

Stitch in place using a thread and bobbin colour that matches the zipper.

Flip it over again and sew up the 3 edges following the Step 16 in the pattern.

For the Zipper Gusset Panel

Take your outer top panels and mark a line 2” (5cm) in from the centre.

Fold the middle edge to this line and clip in place.

For the first row of stitching, follow along the folded edge with a 1/8” (0.3cm) seam allowance.

For the second row of stitching, follow the raw edge at the tape line with a 1/8” (0.3cm) seam allowance.

Take one panel and place it along the zipper tape. Ensure that your food edge is 1/8” (0.3cm) away from the zipper teeth so the pull has some room to move. Tape it in place. You might find it easier to tape the top rather than the backside.

Stitch along the 1/8” (0.3cm) previous stitching. 

Do a second row of stitching 1/8” (0.3cm) away from the edge of the zipper tape or 1/4” (0.6cm) away from previous stitching if the zipper tape is difficult to see.

Repeat the steps on the other side.

Trim the completed outer panel top to 4” (10cm) wide.

Lay the completed top panel face up with the base panel, right sides together, matching one pair of short edges. Stitch to join using a 1/2” (1.3cm) seam allowance, being careful not to hit the zipper teeth (hand-wind if necessary). Trim seam to 1/4” (0.6cm). Flip over and finger press the seam towards the bottom panel. Topstitch using a 1/8” (0.3cm) seam allowance. Securing over the zipper teeth twice.

 

Repeat for the other side.

Assemble Your Bag

Following Step 36 – Creating Your Outer Bag, attach the zipper gusset to the front and back panels ensuring that you DO NOT catch the zipper pocket in the seam!

Tips for working with the curves: Clip, clip, clip!! You will not have any give at all with the clear vinyl. Clipping notches will allow the zipper gusset to go around the curves easier.

If you do not get things smoothly around curves, that is ok! Just make sure your “curves” are consistent for each cover and we will trim later! Trim your seam to 1/4” (0.6cm) trying to keep it equal going around because this will be our sewing guide for the binding!

Open your binding and fold one edge 1/2” (1.3cm) and press. Refold binding.

Place your folded bias tape end along one edge. I recommend starting along a straight edge.  

You can clip the binding all the way around BUT I find it easier to guide it into place instead because the vinyl is so stiff! When you get to curves, give the binding some stretch as you go around the curves. This will leave you a smooth curve when you flip it over the seam allowance.

Stitch all the way around, stopping when you have overlapped the binding by 1/2” (1.3cm).

Trim the corner curves if any vinyl is sticking out past the binding.

Fold the binding over the seam allowance and clip in place. 

Topstitch the binding in place using a 1/8” (0.3cm) seam allowance from the inner fold.

Don’t worry if this isn’t perfect. Maneuvering the clear vinyl can be tricky and this will be tucked inside so it won’t be much of a stand out!

Repeat this for the back panel!

Now the fun part… turning the bag. Go slow and be very patient. The clear vinyl will stick to itself while you are turning, but I promise you, it will be ok and you can get it to turn! Push out the corner curves gently and you now have a cute and trendy clear bag!

Sewing with clear vinyl can be a challenge, but when you get to make a cute clear bag to take to concerts and sporting events, it is so worth it!

Have you ever sewn with clear vinyl? Let us know in the Andrie Designs Patterns Facebook Group if you are going to try sewing this Little Freehand Pack and be sure to tag us on Instagram too!

Happy sewing!

Aimee <3