Today’s list is all about sewing patterns for belt bags (AKA fanny packs, sling bags, bum bags, and/or cross body bags) that I have actually made and found to be great for a beginner to intermediate beginner sewing project (so long as your proficient at putting zippers in).
Sewing is something that I love and want to be good at, but the reality is that I’m just … not. I have dreams of being able to sew my own clothing, whether from scratch or repurposing things that are either in my closet already or thrifted and made even better. Of course, any time I try to actually make something like that, it turns out terribly.
One caveat to that general rule of how bad I am at sewing: bags. I love making zipper pouches, drawstring bags, and now, belt bags (aka sling bags, fanny packs, and/or cross body bags). I freakin’ love making them.
Am I good at making them? Debatable.
Have I gotten intimately familiar with my seam ripper in the process? AB-SO-FREAKIN-LUTELY.
Do I love it anyway? You betcha.
The same thing happened when I started making hand bound books. It was incredibly difficult, precise, and altogether wonderful. And I was absolutely terrible at it. Until I wasn’t.
Fingers crossed sewing also turns into a bad-until-I’m-good journey.
With all of that said, here are three patterns for belt bags that I have actually made and found to be great for a beginner to intermediate beginner sewing project (so long as your proficient at putting zippers in).
Free Belt Bag Patterns:
- The Frankie Exclusive Bum Bag: This was the first belt bag I tried and found it to be easy enough. (Yes, I still had to use the seam ripper, but that was because I didn’t pay attention to what side of the fabric went on the zipper (spoiler alert: it’s the rounded edge). The small bag is super small (doesn’t fit a cell phone) and would be great for a kiddo. The bigger one is still on the small side, but is quite nice. I would recommend using fusible interfacing of some kind to give it a bit of structure, otherwise it’s kind of floppy.
- The Fadalisha Waist Bag / Fanny Pack for kids: I made this belt bag for The Little and she legit squealed with delight when it was finished. It’s a quick project and took me less than a day to finish it (which is huge for me). The Little had a ton of fun picking out the fabric for it (she went with flowers and Cinderella) and I cannot wait for her to wear it. The tutorial itself is in video format with links to the PDF for the pattern pieces. The Big is now officially jealous and has picked out fabric for her very own waist bag.
- The Core Fabrics Free Belt Bag: This is hands down my favorite of the belt bag patterns, and the one I made for myself. I love the size (I went with the smaller one and it’s pretty dang big). I love the shape. And I love how fun it was to put together. I felt like a legit sewist making this one. I already have another one in the works and am really excited to see it all put together. This one has a written tutorial (blog post) as well as a video tutorial, which I found to be extra helpful.
What about you? Do you like to sew? Do you have any favorite patterns or projects you just love working on?
Photo credit: Core Fabrics
