Need the perfect everyday bag? Consider a crossbody bag! This across-the-torso accessory is a popular pick for keeping your belongings close by your side during your ventures—plus it’s easy to DIY and customize with your favorite Spoonflower fabric designs. Join Anna Fletcher from Spoonflower to learn how you can stitch together your own crossbody bag using Dogwood Denim™. Make one for yourself or go big and make a bunch for friends and family!

Click here to download the FREE sewing pattern and continue reading for the beginner-friendly tutorial.

Featured design: Pastel Checkerboard by riveroakstudio


Anna: I love wearing crossbody bags for many reasons! When I’m out and about, I’m always aware of where my phone, wallet and keys are—having those necessities contained snug by my side with a secure strap over my body makes me way less anxious. I love that they’re small but can hold more than you think and that they’re surprisingly easy to sew.

The bag pictured has been my daily purse of choice for over two months and I have zero complaints! It’s sturdy, roomy and fits everything I need, while also showing off the cutest Pastel Checkerboard design by riveroakstudio.

Crossbody Bag Details

This crossbody bag sewing pattern I created features a square-shaped base bag with pockets on the inside and out along with an adjustable torso/shoulder strap. The strap width can be customized as well depending on your style preference.

My finished bag measures about 10″ (width across) x 9.5″ (height) x 3″ (width of the flat bottom). This can fit all my necessities and much more!

Skill level:
Beginner/Intermediate

The supplies you’ll need to make a crossbody bag.


Materials List

  • Crossbody bag pattern—Download here
  • 1 yard/meter of outer fabric—I’m using Dogwood Denim, but also consider fabrics like Cypress Cotton Canvas or Recycled Canvas
  • 1 yard/meter of lightweight lining fabric—I recommend using Petal Signature Cotton®
  • 1 yard/meter of fusible fleece interfacing—such as Pellon® 987F
  • 1 yard/meter of fusible lightweight interfacing—such as Pellon SF101
  • Fabric scissors
  • Sewing machine
  • Matching thread
  • 12” (30.5 cm) zipper
  • 2 D-rings
  • 2 Swivel hooks
  • 1 Strap adjuster
  • Pins or clips
  • Iron
  • Zipper foot (optional)

Pro Tip: Needles

This project uses many layers of thick denim! For easy sewing and to avoid jamming your sewing machine, consider purchasing some denim needles.


How To Make A Crossbody Bag

Step 1. Cut and Assemble the Pattern

Download and print the PDF pattern, making sure to print it at “actual” or “100%” size. After printing, you can assemble the pattern own of two different ways:

Option 1: Cut the thin black lines (as there are both thick and thin lines) on the edges of each sheet until you have slightly smaller rectangles than before. Match up the pairs of letters inside the little triangles and tape all the sheets together until you have one big spread you can cut from. Cut pieces 1-7 via the thick black lines.

Option 2: Cut the thick black lines but make sure to stop at the edges where the thin black lines are. Tape all the smaller cut pieces together by matching up the pairs of letters inside the triangles until you form final pieces 1-7.

The complete layout of the crossbody bag pattern
Taping the lining pocket piece together

Step 2. Cut the Fabric

Use the paper pattern to cut all the fabric pieces needed for this project. That includes the outer fabric, lining fabric and interfacing pieces. Fuse the interfacing to the required pieces (marked on the pattern) and set all pieces together to make sure you didn’t miss anything.

All cut fabric pieces ready to go!

Step 3. Create the Main Pocket

Grab pieces 2 and 3 of your outer fabric, the main pocket pieces. Place piece 3 on top of piece 2, right sides together, with the top edge aligned. Sew the top with a 1/2″ (1.3 cm) seam allowance, which will also be our seam allowance for the duration of this project unless stated otherwise.

After sewing, fold the pieces over wrong sides together and pin/clip all the edges together. This will form a thicker band across the top of the pocket which helps with structure. Sew across the top of the band to hold in place.

Place the sewn pocket on top of outer fabric piece 1 (you should have two of these, pick up just one for now). Align the bottom and side edges, clip everything together and sew the pocket on, skipping the cut-out corners at the bottom.

Creating the outer pocket


You can sew a line through the middle of this whole piece to split the pocket into two like I did, or keep it as one big pocket!

Two pockets formed by sewing down the middle

Step 4. Create the Inner Pocket

Grab pattern piece 4, the lining pocket. Fold the short edges inward by 1/4″ (.6 cm), wrong sides together, and press. Then fold the whole pocket in half, right sides together and pin/clip the top. Sew around the side and top edges (since the bottom is already closed) with a 1/2″ (1.3 cm) seam allowance, leaving a little 3-4″ (7-10 cm) gap at the top. Flip the pocket inside out and sew the gap closed to reveal a clean pocket piece.

Grab lining fabric piece 1 (again, you have two of these, only grab one) and place the finished pocket on top, right sides together. Find the center of the base piece, or wherever you want the pocket to be placed, and use a pin to keep it in place. Sew the pocket’s edges to the base leaving the top edge open.

Creating the inner pocket

Step 5. Make the Strap Loops

Take one of the pattern piece 6 sections for a strap loop and fold the shorter edges right sides together. Start by folding the very outer short edges in until they meet the middle. Repeat with the second strap loop. Sew both long edges down. My desired strap width is 1.25″ (3.1 cm) so the strap loops will measure the same. The sewing pattern has options for varying strap widths, so yours may differ!

Folding in the strap loops

Step 6. Attach the D-Rings

Feed one loop through each of your D-rings and clip together the raw edges to hold. Place one strap loop with the D-ring on each of the sides of the first piece we made with the finished outer pocket piece. Clip them so they are in the center between the top edge of the main base piece and the top edge of the pocket itself. This doesn’t have to be perfectly in the middle, just as long as you leave at least an inch up top to make room for the zipper in the next step.

Attaching the strap loops to the base layer, leaving room to attach the zipper at the top

Step 7. Sew and Attach the Zipper Ends

Just like we did with the strap loops, fold the outer edges of piece 5 (both of them), the zipper ends, inward. Since this piece is square it doesn’t matter which ends you fold as long as they’re opposite of each other. Press these closed, clip together and set aside.

Forming the zipper ends by folding the fabric edges in

Grab your zipper, or zipper tape in my case, and cut it down to roughly 10.5″ (27 cm). You’ll then need to wrap the raw edges of the zipper with the zipper ends you have clipped off to the side. Unclip them and reclip them around the zipper’s raw edges.

Sew each zipper end by the inside edge to the zipper.

Clipping the zipper ends to the zipper

Step 8. Attach the Zipper to Your Purse Layer

Place your zipper with the attached zipper ends zipper-side down onto the main pocket piece we just attached the D-ring loops to. Align the top edge of the base with one long side of the zipper, making sure it’s also centered, and clip the edges together. Sew the edge as close as you can to the teeth of the zipper without actually going over them—a zipper foot on your sewing machine may be a helpful tool here!

With right sides together, place one of the base lining pieces, the one without the pocket, over your work along the top edge exactly how we just attached the zipper. Sew in place.

Attaching the first two layers of the bag together

The zipper should now be sandwiched in between the outer and lining layer. Fold the outer and lining layers over so the wrong sides are facing together with the zipper sticking out and press flat.

Flipping the layers over to expose the half-finished zipper

Step 9. Attach the Other Layers

Now we need to repeat the previous step but with the last two big fabric layers. Place the remaining base outer fabric piece right-side down on top of the half-bag we’ve made so far, lining up the top edges of the zipper and fabric. Clip in place like before and sew a line as close as you can to the zipper teeth without crossing over them.

Flip your work over, place the remaining lining piece right side down on top of the pocket lining piece and align the top edges. Clip the top and sew across.

Attaching the second two layers to the base

Step 10. Finish the Top

Flip the layers over until you have all right sides facing out, with the zipper snug in the middle. Sew around the zipper edges on top of all of the layers with a 1/8″ (.3 cm) seam allowance to officially form the top of the bag.

Flipping the layers over and finishing the top of the bag

Check Your Zipper:

Before sewing this next step, check inside where the zipper is and make sure it is open. If not, you’ll sew your bag completely shut without being able to open it back up!

Step 11. Finish the Sides

Flip the layers one more time where both lining and outer layers are right sides together. You should see the edges of the zipper ends sticking out in the middle here. Next, clip all the outer edges together and sew with a 1/2″ (1.3 cm) seam allowance, but leave a small gap in the bottom of the lining enough to fit your hand through for a later step.

Sew Slowly

Sewing over the edges with the zipper ends may be a little tricky since it’s a lot of layers, just make sure to sew slowly
Flipping the layers so everything is right sides together, clipping the sides and leaving a small gap in the lining
Keeping the zipper open and sewing the sides shut

Step 12. Sew the Corners

Take one of the clipped corners and pull out the edges flat until you can see the right sides on the inside touching. Use a few clips to keep this corner closed while you finally sew it shut with a seam across.

Repeat with the other three corners. You should now have a completely closed bag minus the lining gap! But it’s inside out… let’s fix that.

Pulling the edges out and clipping to hold the corners flat

Step 13. Birth Your Bag

Yes, you read that right. The process of flipping the finished bag inside out is called “birthing,” which makes a lot of sense once you see it with your own eyes.

Stick your hand inside of the bag through the gap in the lining and pull everything right side out. This might take some work and a little muscle. Take your time—you can even use something like a pencil or a chopstick to push out the hard-to-reach corners. Boom, you have a bag! Well, more like a fancy zipper pouch for now. Almost done!

Birthing the bag through the lining layer

Step 14. Finish the Inside

We need to close up that lining gap! Simply fold the raw edges in, pin/clip in place and sew shut. You can do this with your machine for a quick close or choose to hand sew for a neater route.

Sewn edge at the bottom of the lining layer

Step 15. Make The Strap

Take piece 7 (the strap) and fold it like you’re making bias tape or how we made the strap loops earlier. Using an iron to help, press the long edges until they meet in the middle, then do it one more time. This time, however, fold in the shorter edges beforehand as well for a clean look on all the edges. Pin/clip down both long edges and sew in place until you have one long strap.

Folding the strap edges inward
(Note: Make sure to fold the whole strap, I only did a small section in this GIF as an example!)

Step 16. Attach the Swivel Hooks

Next, grab your swivel hooks. Feed one of the strap ends through one swivel hook, fold it over and clip in place. Sew a box with an X through it—rather than a single line across—to add more security.

Box with an X inside sewn on the strap to hold the swivel hook

Step 17. Attach the Strap Adjuster

Grab your strap adjuster. Feed the strap through the adjuster and the second swivel hook using the below photo as a guide:

• Push the strap into both adjuster sides with the small bar in the middle under the strap
• Add the swivel hook
• Slide the strap through the adjuster again, but via the bottom, leaving about 1-2″ (2.5-5 cm) sticking out

Follow the arrows and numbers as a guide! Feed through the strap in this order.

Step 18. Secure the Strap End

Sew the bit of strap sticking out to the inside right underneath the adjuster. See where my thumb is in the below photo. Clip in place and test the adjusting mechanism to make sure it works, if it doesn’t, you probably clipped the leftover strap onto the wrong inner side as there are two. Sew another box with an X to keep this secure.

Step 19. Attach the Straps to Your Bag

Clip the strap on and cross this bag off your list—you’re done!

Featured design: Pastel Checkerboard by riveroakstudio

FAQ

How do I wash my crossbody bag?
Machine wash your bag at a low temperature on the delicate setting. Machine dry at a low-temperature setting.
How do you wear a crossbody bag?
While traditionally you drape these bags over your torso diagonally, across the body, you can also wear it as a simple shoulder bag and even adjust the strap width for a long or short look.
Is it easy to sew a crossbody bag?
This tutorial is designed for beginner to intermediate sewists and beyond.
What is the size of a finished crossbody bag?
The finished size of this crossbody bag is about 10″ (width across) x 9.5″ (height) x 3″ (width of the flat bottom).

Dogwood Denim for Days

Continue reading the blog for more DIYs with Anna’s favorite Spoonflower fabric, Dogwood Denim. Make this mini backpack, this skirt and much more!
See Denim Tutorials