Adding a liner to your crochet purse or bag is a great idea if you want to add durability and have the purse keep its shape. With a bag liner you won't have to worry about damaging the yarn fibers, or small items slipping through the stitches and getting lost.
Choosing your fabric
When choosing a liner for your bag, it's best to choose a fabric that has a similar weight. For a lightweight dainty purse, you'll want to go with a delicate fabric liner such as cotton or silk. For heavier weighted bags, a sturdier fabric, such as an upholstery fabric would be better suited.
Materials
Fabric
Sewing needle & thread
pins
scissors
sewing machine (optional)
Iron
ruler
zipper
Prepping your fabric
Before measuring or cutting, make sure your fabric is wrinkle free. You may need to iron it before hand. Once your fabric is ready, you'll need to measure the purse to determine what size to cut your fabric.
To determine the width of the liner: measure the width of the bag + twice the depth + 1" for the seam allowance
To determine the height of the liner: measure twice the height of the bag + the depth of the bag + 1" for the seam allowance. (the twice the height of the liner is to account for the fabric being folded at the bottom, this reduces the number of seams that need to be sewn).
Note: If you are adding a zipper to the purse, you will want to measure to the height of the zipper instead.
For my purse in the example below, the width measures 8" + twice the depth (depth is 1") equals 2" + 1" seam allowance = 11" total.
Twice the height of the purse is 20" + 1" for the depth + 1" seam allowance = 22" total (remember there will be a fold at the bottom of the fabric).
Sewing the Purse Liner
1) Cut your fabric to size as determined by the measurement instructions above.
2) Fold the fabric in half with the right sides facing each other (wrong sides facing you). Sew the sides together with a 1 inch seam allowance on the sides. Make sure to leave 1 inch at the top not sewn, so that you can fold it over for the top seam allowance (see next step). Option to add a zigzag stitch on the outer edges to ensure the fabric does not fray. I used a sewing machine, but you may choose to sew by hand instead.
3) Zigzag stitch along the top edges so that the fabric doesn't fray and fold over the top 1 inch seam allowance and iron flat. You can now insert the liner into the purse as is.
4) Pin the liner into the purse. I put a zipper in before hand, so pinned the liner just under the top edge of the zipper. For instructions on how to add a zipper click here.
5) Using a sewing machine and thread that matches the crochet project, sew the liner to the purse or zipper (if you have added one), with a 1/4 inch allowance. You may also choose to sew by hand using an invisible stitch.
The crochet purse patterns pictured in this article are available here https://www.poppyshop.ca/purses-accessories
How to Add a Liner with a Pocket to a Crochet Purse or Bag | Video Tutorial
How to sew a Zipper onto a Crochet Purse or Bag | Video Tutorial