DIY Crossbody Bag (Machine Embroidery project)

Hi, this is Chris from Needlepointers.com and I’m here to show you this Crossbody bag I sewed using a machine embroidery pattern by Sweet Pea Machine Embroidery Designs.

I was looking for a bag to use on day trips.  The bags I had could not hold my water bottle easily along with my wallet, keys, and sunglasses.  I think this bag will be the perfect bag for this purpose!

Needlepointers.com is a Sweet Pea affiliate which means we will receive a commission if you purchase the pattern or supplies through our links at the end of this page.  

Sweet Pea did not request for us to make this project and all opinions are our own.

Learn more about this Crossbody Bag by watching our video or keep reading this article.

DIY Crossbody Bag Features

This crossbody pack features a zipper exterior pocket, zipper top closure, two inside mesh pockets, a large front slip pocket, a roomy interior and an adjustable padded crossbody strap.  All seams inside the bag and pocket are fully finished seams with no raw edges.

I made the smaller size bag for a 6x10 hoop and it’s quite roomy and has many pockets.  The finished size of my bag is 8.5” x 13.5” x 3” deep. The bag created with the 8x12 hoop would be larger in size.  

This crossbody bag is made of cotton fabric and is lined on the inside. I used three fabrics for the bag, flower print, pink and yellow.

There is a nice-sized slip pocket in the front big enough to fit my water bottle. 

The crossbody pack back has a mesh on the shoulder strap to help keep it from slipping off your shoulder.

This small zippered pocket on the front can hold small items and help keep you organized.

The zippers are from Sweet Pea and rose gold in color.  They are nylon zippers that look metallic and have nice large zipper pulls that says Sweet Pea on them.

The bag has a larger main compartment.  The instructions for the bag suggest putting one large inside pocket made from mesh.  I added an extra smaller mesh pocket on the front side.

On the interior, I used my serger to finish the edges instead of covering them with binding tape.  I think that the serged edges will wear well and keep the fabric from fraying on the inside.

Serging the seams was a bit quicker way to finish the inside seams.  If you want a more professional look, then I suggest using binding tape to finish the seams.

DIY Crossbody bag Hardware

This crossbody pack requires two zippers, two D-rings, a swivel hook and a rectangular slide belt loop.

For the zippers, I knew metal look nylon zippers would look great and with a color to match the bag. Also, it would be nice to have zippers with the Sweet Pea zipper pull.

At first, I thought that I would have to wait a long time for the zippers to be shipped from Australia.  But, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Sweet Pea ships from the USA!  So, I received the zippers within a few days of ordering them. 

Sweet Pea sells a variety of different zipper options so I purchased quite a few so I have them on hand for future projects.

I found the matching bag hardware on Amazon.com.  I was happy that they had some quality hardware in the same rose gold color.

About the Crossbody Bag Pattern

The crossbody pack pattern used to make this bag is a machine embroidery pattern sold by Sweet Pea Machine Embroidery Designs.  An embroidery machine is needed to complete the panels for sewing this bag.

The pattern comes in two sizes for either a 6x10 or 8x12 hoop.

There are 14 panels to machine embroider to create this bag.  Once all of the panels are embroidered, the rest of the bag is assembled using a regular sewing machine.

Sweet Pea Machine Embroidery designs include a detailed step-by-step photo tutorial on how to stitch this bag.  Since this bag is more complicated they also have two YouTube video tutorials on how to assemble the bag. 

I have included links to both the bag pattern, supplies and Sweet Pea's YouTube video tutorials at the end of this page.

Since it's a more complicated bag to sew, it's rated for an intermediate sewer.

Sewing the Bag Sections

The front pocket and back of the bag (left & right below) are created with three panels each (so 6 of the 14 panels).

The front of the bag with the zipper pocket is also created with three panels. After machine embroidering the panels, they are sewn together into the front pocket panel, front and back.

The photo below shows how the yellow front pocket section will look in the finished bag.

Lining pieces are cut and attached to the front pocket panel and back panel. Before attaching them, mesh pocket(s) can be added to give more pockets inside the bag.

The gusset consists of four sections, the bag bottom, the side gussets and the zipper top.

After machine embroidering the four sections, they are sewn together adding the hoops and d-rings.

Then the lining pieces are added to give the inside of the bag a finished look.

The bag shoulder strap is padded and has a sleeve to put the strap through. The edges are bound with a piece of bias binding tape.

The back of the strap has a mesh backing.  This helps the strap from slipping off your shoulder while carrying the bag.

The pattern suggests using Sweet Pea Essential-Tex™ Bag Stiffener to give more body to the bag.  This product was sold out on the Sweet Pea website, so I used some Pellon Peltex 70 that I had already.

I like how this bag turned out and look forward to taking with me on my upcoming vacation.

Scroll down for the machine embroidery pattern by Sweet Pea, Sweet Pea zippers, bag hardware and more.  We’ve also included a link to two video tutorials by Sweet Pea on assembling this bag.

We hope you enjoyed learning about this Crossbody Pack and pattern by Sweet Pea Machine Embroidery designs. 

Other Bag Projects you may be interested in are:

• Butterfly Bag
• Dog Walking Bag
• How does your Garden Grow Bag
• Machine Embroidered Purse
• Tall Cell Phone Wallet - This is the wallet I pulled out of the bag in the video.