Busy Bag DIY

Recently, I saw a pin of this really cute busy bag and decided that it would be perfect for my daughter. She is always one to enjoy coloring and writing on the go, but it always seems like she is losing her crayons or dropping her pencils and when we go to clean out the van, we find them all. Plus, it is portable and we can easily take it in if I have to take her to a meeting or a book club, where she needs to entertain herself.

It is a really straight-forward project, you don't need much from an 'equipment' perspective, a tape measure, scissors, an iron and a sewing machine.

We were able to pick up all of our supplies at Walmart. We bought 1/2 yard each of two fabrics, you could probably use less if you went with one fabric, but she wanted two. We got 1/4 yard of fusible fleece, because we could only find it on the bolt. If you can find a package, just make sure that it is at least 8" x 19". We also got 21" of webbing - they had a lot of colors according to their shelf tags, but we got white because it was the only one that they had in stock. We already had Velcro at home, but you will need 2" x 1/2" piece. You will also want 4 - 6 Quart size bags. I would recommend not using the one with the slide, in case that would break. We went with 4 bags for our busy bag.

1/2 yard of two coordinating fabrics
1/4 yard of fusible fleece
21" webbing
2" Velcro (1/2" wide)
4-6 Quart size zipper bags

Cut out a piece from your outside fabric that is 8 1/2" x 20" and two pieces that are 8 1/2" by 10 1/4" from your inside fabric. Cut your fusible fleece to 8" x 19". Cut your webbing into three pieces - 2 that are 9" and 1 that is 3".

Using an iron, adhered the fusible fleece to the wrong side of your fabric according to the directions on the fleece.

Fuse one end of your 3" webbing with a lighter to seal it. The other end will be inside the project and does not need to be fused. Sew one side of your Velcro to the 3" piece of webbing.

On your outside fabric with the right side up, measure in 2" from the side and pin the end of your webbing handle to align with the edge of the fabric. Do this four times. Pin your 3" strap in the middle on one of the ends. On the other end, pin the other side of the Velcro to the fabric. Using a 1/4" allowance, baste all five connections and sew around the Velcro.

Sandwich the quart bags between the inside fabric, with the right side of the fabric towards the bags. Using a 3/8" seam allowance, sew the fabric and bags together.

With right sides together, align the inside and the outside fabric pieces, pinning in place. Sew most of the way around, leaving yourself a small opening to flip the bag right side out. Sew the opening shut.

I only sewed the 2" opening I had left, but for a consistent finish, you could sew a 1/4" seam around the entire bag.

The finished project:

The bag stocked for use:

My daughter was pretty excited to see the fabrics she chose turned into a bag that she can use on the go to tote her crayons, pencils, tablets and more.