Cicada Bag – sewing pattern 

Sew this whimsical drawstring pouch to keep safe your secret treasures.  Inspired by the Japanese tradition of chirimen patchwork crafts, this bag is a great way to use up small scraps of fabric too small for most things, but too nice to discard. In Japan there is an old adage that says if you can wrap three beans in a piece of fabric, then the fabric’s still worth saving. :)


Measurements: Finished bag is 12cm (5″) long x 8cm (3″) wide

What you’ll need:
Fabric scraps. I used 12cm (5″) charm squares from Kaffe Fassett’s collection of quilting cottons.
Sewing thread to match.
A method for transferring the pattern pieces to the fabric eg. dressmaker’s carbon paper
90cm (1yd) thin cord. I used 2mm gold satin rat-tail cord.
2 buttons for the eyes. I used Swarovski 3015 10mm Rivoli buttons in “jet”.

Cicada Bag Pattern Pieces PDF (pattern is free for personal use)
To print at the intended size ensure your printer settings don’t resize it by setting “Page Scaling” to “None”. You can also make the bag intentionally smaller or larger by adjusting these scaling settings.

CUTTING GUIDE
Main Fabric
2 x Body (one upper body from the patchwork piece, one lower body from plain fabric)
1 x Head
2 x Wings (mirror image the second wing, for a right and left pair)
2 x Mouth Casing
Lining Fabric (I used the same quilting cotton as the main fabric)
2 x Body
1 x Head
2 x Wings (mirror image the second wing, for a right and left pair)

Seam allowances: An allowance of 6mm (1/4″) is included and shown on the pattern pieces. After sewing seams, trim seam allowances to 3mm (1/8″) and clip corners/curves where necessary before turning right side out. Press each section as you go.

Set up: To begin, make a foundation of patchwork strips large enough to accommodate the body pattern. For strip size, you can follow the dashed line guides on the body pattern or adjust the width and number of strips to suit whatever fabric scraps you have on hand (Photo 1). After sewing strips together, press the patchwork piece so all the seam allowances face the same direction.

Referring to the cutting guide above, transfer the pattern pieces to the fabric using dressmaker’s carbon or preferred method. Cut out all fabric pieces.

Body: With the right sides facing, match the upper body and lower body pieces and sew together leaving the straight edge open. Trim seam allowances, turn right side out and press. Repeat with the lining body pieces, but this time do NOT turn right side out.

Slip the lining body inside the main body, wrong sides facing together (Photo 2). Tack around the top edge to secure the two together.

 
Wings: With the right sides facing, place the right and left wings together with their lining wing pieces and sew, leaving the short straight edge open for turning. Trim seam allowances, turn right side out and press. Position the wings on the upper body (Photo 3), aligning the outer edge of the wing at the sides.

Head: Place the main head and lining head pieces right side together and sew, leaving the straight edge open. Trim seam allowances, turn right side out and press. Place over the wings (Picture 4) and tack in place, aligning the outer edge at the sides.


Mouth Casing: On the shorter side of each mouth casing piece, fold over the 6mm (1/4″) seam allowance and top-stitch close to the edge. Right sides together, place a mouth casing piece over the upper body so that the hemmed edges meet neatly at the sides. Pin or tack in place. Repeat with the other mouth casing piece over the lower body (Photo 5).

Now you’re ready to sew all these layers together, 6mm (1/4″) from the top of the bag opening, all the way around. Because the bag opening has a small diameter, I found it easier to sew this seam by hand using back-stitch.


Turn up the mouth casing pieces in the direction of the bag opening and press seam open (Photo 6).  These pieces form the drawstring casing. Along the raw edge of both mouth casing pieces, fold over the 6mm (1/4″) seam allowance and press. Fold the mouth casing piece in half towards the inside of the bag.  Aligning the turned edge with the seam, slip-stitch the casing in place. To make this step easier, partially turn the bag inside out (Photo 7).


At the side openings of the casing, stitch together the lower half of the casing, both internally and externally (Photo 7a). This finishes the casing neatly, enclosing the raw seam at the edges.


Eyes: Sew on the button eyes. Placement is marked on the head pattern, but adjust as desired.

Cord: Now you’re ready to insert the drawstring cord into the mouth casing. Cut the piece of cord in half. Thread one half onto a large-eyed knitter’s tapestry needle (or safety pin) and pass it all the way through the casing, entering and exiting from the same side. Repeat with the other piece of cord, entering and exiting from the opposite side (Photo 9/10). When you pull the opposing cords, they should gather the mouth casing and close the bag. Knot or otherwise finish the cord ends if they look likely to fray.

Enjoy!