Yesterday I showed how to stick a canvas with raw edges into the window of a Turtle Bag. Today I'll show how to turn under and baste the edges before you insert the canvas in case you want a more finished panel.
I strongly advise you make a paper pattern before you do any stitching or before cutting your finished canvas to insert in the bag. That way you know your canvas will fit without anything showing you don't want to show. You can fold or trim the paper pattern until you know what works, then use it to draw or baste where the stitching should stop. In the example below, my canvas was stitched half an inch beyond the 5 1/2 x 7 inch space. The entire front of the canvas is stitched but not all of that is visible through the window on the front of the Turtle Bag.
If you are certain about the correct size, trim the canvas around the outside margin. I normally leave half an inch of raw canvas all the way around. Finger press the raw edges back all around the outside. Now trim the corners somewhat to reduce the bulk. In the above picture, I've finger pressed the sides, then cut the corners off.
Now press the raw edges to the back again. If you have clips of some kind, you can carefully fold the corners under so that they meet and use clips to hold the corners in position.
Now baste the corners together. In the above example I'm using a doubled strand of sewing thread in a contrasting color so you can see. Normally I use a color similar to the background color but that won't show up in a tutorial. It doesn't have to be really neat. I'm not the neatest when it comes to hand sewing but no one is going to see it.
Once all four corners are done, lay your canvas on a table and put a few books on top to help it stay flat. (If your canvas has beads or ribbon work you might want to skip this step or use padding.) This step is optional, but my canvas has no beads or very raised stitches and I wanted it flat.
Now just slide the canvas in the window pocket. Add the stiff fabric panel if you wish. Zip the top of the side panel closed and there you go.
The final step is to go shopping for the next canvas for your Turtle Bag!
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© Copyright May 18, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.
