Sew Along, Sewing

Haralson Sew-along Part 1

Welcome to the Haralson Bag Sew-Along Part 1! I’m so excited to have you join along! 

Here’s the schedule I’ll be following for the sew-along:
Part 1: February 20th (today), fabric selection, cutting & fusing, sewing the exterior back and inserting the interior zip pocket
Part 2: February 27th, making Front Panel, hardware closures, and assembling the bag
Part 3: March 7th, Black and linen Haralson sample

See? I told you it’s a pretty quick project! I think this schedule should allow for plenty of catch up time if you miss a week. Don’t feel pressured to rush along! But if you’re cruising along and having fun feel free to go at your own pace, too. No rules here!

Haralson Sew-along Part 1

In today’s video (Part 1, linked below) I do an overview and project discussion. I also talk about fabric selection, cutting & interfacing, and then assemble the exterior back and complete the interior zip pocket.

Cutting measurements and cutting layouts are found on pages 3-5 of the Haralson PDF. Templates for the majority of the pieces are found on pages 14-18 of the PDF. There are a few rectangular pieces that will need to be cut. They are to be cut using a rotary cutter, grid ruler, and cutting mat for best accuracy. Don’t forget to use the label sheet (included are both metric and imperial measurements) to help keep you organized!

After this week you should have all the pieces cut and the interfacing fused to all corresponding pieces, the exterior back assembled, and the interior zip pocket completed . Yay!

Watch the video for Part 1 of the sew-along!

Click the image above to watch the video. Or click this link to play the video.


Read a few notes about the project & supplies needed below:

Haralson Sew-along Part 1

I’m including some fabric, hardware, and zipper notes below in case you hadn’t read them in the pattern release post.

Fabric Notes

The beauty of a smaller bag like this is that it can be made using a lighter weight fabric. Check out the materials list for the pattern, you’ll see that the exterior fabric calls for a mid-weight canvas in a 6-8 oz. weight.

Many of your favorite fabric manufacturers print on a canvas within that range (Ruby Star Society, Cotton + Steel, Art Gallery Fabrics, Robert Kaufman (not Big Sur canvas for this one!), and more).

My own fabric collections (Around the BendQuarry Trail, etc. which are printed on Robert Kaufman’s Essexfall on the lighter side of this range, coming in at 5.6 oz per square yard. I think that’s about the lightest fabric weight I’d recommend for this pattern!

Additionally, I would NOT recommend going any heavier than the 8 oz. weight! Unless you have bag making experience with a certain fabric and interfacing combination, I would stick to the pattern as written before making adjustments. The heavier fabric will make the corners and layers more difficult to manipulate and sew through.

Hardware Note

Please note that I give a specific size for the front closure hardware. For the swivel clasp in particular is important to make note of the length of your hardware piece. The pattern is designed for a swivel clasp that is ¾”-wide by 1 ¾” tall. The overall height is important to keep the flap secure. If you end up using a taller clasp, the flap will be looser.

Zippers Used

Lastly, this pattern is written for traditional fixed-length zippers (metal ones are my fave). I also give instructions for using zipper by the yard/continuous zipper.

Haralson Sew-along Part 1

Looking for supplies for your Haralson?

Below are supplies for the Haralson Belt Bag that are available in my shop: 

Project Details

This Haralson sewed up really beautifully thanks to these gorgeous fabrics:

See You at Six cotton twill for Exterior fabric (purchased from Bolt Fabric), waxed twill from AL Frances Textiles for the Accent fabric, and Kitchen Window Wovens by Elizabeth Hartman (doeskin) for Lining (purchased from Hawthorne Supply co.)

Thank you so much for your support! I can’t wait to see Haralson bags! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@noodlehead531) and use #HaralsonBag or #HaralsonBeltBag #noodleheadpatterns

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