Step 1: Plan out your Bag
Basically in this step decide what you want your background fabric to be, if you want to have a theme with your charms (mine here is FFXV), and in general placement of your charms. Be sure to take a photo at this point, it will help a ton when you get to actually placing them on the foam insert! Step 3: Cover the Insert with your Fabric
For this step cut out of your fabric so that it is about 1/2in or so bigger than your piece of foam. You will then be cutting little notches into the fabric, then hot gluing these notches down onto the foam. The reason to cut notches out is because it will make it easy to get a clean curve. Just overlap the notches when needed to smooth the curves out. |
Why Make An Ita Bag Insert?
Step 2: Create the Foam Insert
For this step trace the outline of your ita bag onto 2mm craft foam. It may take a little trimming to get it to be the exact size but you can always trace it out on some printer paper first if needed. |
Step 5: Attach Charms with Safety Pins to Foam Insert
I like to start in one corner and move my way across the bag (be sure to look at your planning photo!) Basically this step is just hooking the safety pin through the foam and the little loop on the top of the charm. Just be sure you try not to place charms that will not be visible on the bag (that's why the bottom half is empty on mine) |
Step 4: (Optional) Remove Keychain Loops
This is completely optional but I find it really helps de-clutter a bag packed with pins, so I just remove the keychain loops like these boxed in blue below. To do this, just use a pair of needle nose pliers to open or cut the second to last loop on the chain, and you are done! Just be sure to leave at least one chain loop at the end so you can attach it to your bag in the next step! Step 6: Zip the Insert into your Bag and Be Proud!
That's it, your Ita Bag insert is done! Feel free to make multiple inserts to show off different famdoms but keep using the same bag. Having an insert makes it super easy to switch it up! |