Several people have asked for a picture tutorial on how I lined my pink passion plarn purse. So here are a few pictures I took and I will walk you through a brief explanation on how to line a plarn purse.

I basically create a pocket to slip inside my plarn purses to line them. I simply cut a piece of fabric for the lining and with right sides together and sew it together. Here is the completed lining I made for the recycled Pink Passion Plarn Purse which includes two pockets and a magnetic closure.

First step is to lay out the completed purse on the fabric lining as shown. The bottom of the purse lining is placed on the fold line of the fabric.

Next I cut around the purse on the lining allowing about an inch around the purse shell and two inches at the top. You want to leave extra at the top as I like to fold it over twice to make a nice finished hem for the top edge of the finished lining.

Fold over the top edge and press down a finished hem on the top of lining. Check the height of the hem by putting the lining inside your purse shell and making sure it will lay just below the plastic top edge of the purse shell. See pictures to see where you want the finished hem to lay inside the purse. Adjust your pressed hem to the proper fit before you machine stitch the top edge.

Machine stitch along the top of your pressed hem on both sides of the lining. Remember you want right sides together as you create this lining. Now using a fabric pen, mark around the lining where you will need to sew. I made my marks just by tracing around the outside edge of the purse.

I cut two pockets to put inside my lining. Here are the pockets showing the right and wrong sides. I pressed the hems around the pockets and used some hem stitch tape to hold the top hem in place.

Here are the pockets sewn on to the lining before I stitched the lining sides together. Once you have the pockets sewn in. With right sides together, sew the sides of the lining together. You can use a baste stitch if you aren’t sure about your fit. Check your fit by slipping the lining pocket inside the shell. Check to make sure it fits around the edges and to the bottom of the purse.

I put in a magnetic closure on the lining. Here is a photo of how I placed it. I always add a small piece of interfacing on the back of the closure to give it support. This reinforces your fabric and helps prevent the fabric from tearing.

Completed magnetic closure inside the lining.

Check the fit of your lining pocket and once it fits properly, trim the seams close to the stitching. Now slip it inside your plarn purse shell and pin it in place along the top edge as shown.

I hand stitch in the lining working through the fabric and the plarn along the top edge. I stitch working on the inside along the fabric and pushing my needle through the plastic and then back through to the fabric side. Make your stitch close together to hold the fabric lining securely in place. Enforce the corners by stitching several times to make sure the lining is firmly attached to the plastic.

Here is the completed lining after it was sewn in. Remember you can click on any of the photos to super-size them. Please email me if you have any questions on lining your recycled plastic bag items.