Materials:
Fabrics:
Outer fabric I (I used a bicycle fabric, cotton & linen blend)
Outer fabric II (I used red, purple and cream coloured stripes)
Lining fabric (I used sky blue and white checks)
Sew-in interfacing (I used bamboo batting)- you can use iron-on interfacing if you prefer
Twill tape, 2 strips, 15″ each
2 small buttons
Fabric cutting instructions:
Take note when using directional prints – all measurements read height x width
Outer fabric I:
Cut 2 pieces 9″ x 10 3/4″ (Piece A & B in the photo below) for body
Outer fabric II:
Cut 1 piece 8.5″ x 10 3/4″ (Piece C) for body
Cut 2 strips 15″ x 1 1/4″ for straps (Strip F & G)
Cut 1 piece 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ (Piece D) for pocket
Lining fabric:
Cut 1 piece 25 1/2″ x 10 3/4″ for lining
Sew-in interfacing:
Cut 1 piece 4″ x 5″ (Piece H) for pocket
Cut 1 piece 25″ x 10 1/4″ (Piece I) for body
Seam allowance: 1/4″
Step 1: Strap
Fold the fabric strips (F & G) like the picture below.
Pin each fabric strip on to a piece of twill tape of the same length.
Top stitch.
Step 2: Pocket
Place interfacing (Piece H) over pocket fabric (Piece D) wrong side up, like the picture below.
Stitch along the top, middle and bottom of interfacing as shown in the picture, you can baste the interfacing onto the fabric first. And if preferred, you can use iron-on interfacing instead.
Fold pocket fabric, right side together and pin.
Sew around the 3 edges, leaving an opening to turn over.
Turn the right side out and close the gap using ladder (blind) stitch.
Step 3: Outer fabrics
Pin fabric piece A and C right side together and stitch the width edge (shown by the brown line). Do the same with fabric B and the other edge of fabric C. If you are using directional prints, note that C is the bottom of the tote.
Press seam open. Now you should have a piece of fabric same size as the lining (Piece E), now refer to as the outer fabric.
Pin and baste interfacing (Piece I) onto lining (Piece E) using a contrasting thread. Do 3 straight stitches running the length of lining, equal distance apart.
Use a seam ripper to remove basting. Do another 3 straight stitches running the length of the lining as the picture below. Again, it is perfectly fine if you wish to use iron-on interfacing.
Pin and stitch (shown by the black line in the picture below) pocket onto the right side of lining – 3 3/4″ below the shorter edge.
Step 5: Putting things together
Pin lining and outer fabric right side together (don’t forget the straps* – see next picture), stitch the two shorter edges (shown by the brown line – sorry I couldn’t fit both ends into the picture).
*When pinning strap in place, the two ends should be 3 3/4″ apart. Also note that the the right side of the strap is to face the right side of the outer fabric. Please leave about 3/4″ of the strap extruding like the picture below.
Press seam open and place it like the picture below. Stitch the side edges(shown by the brown lines) leaving a 4″ opening to turn out.
Pinch the corner out (only the lining fabric) – much like origami!!^0^
Draw a line 2″ from the corner and stitch! Do the same for the other corner.
Trim off the corner.
Turn the bag right side out and close the opening using ladder (blind) stitch.
Similar to the lining, pinch the corner out, fold up and pin in place. Sew the corner “point” with a cute button – see the small picture below.
Lastly, we need to strengthen the bag handle. Draw a mark like the one in the picture.
Stitch!
Step 6: DONE!!!
Quite a long post! I hope these instructions are clear!
And I hope you like this tutorial!! ^_^
Thank you very much for reading!!!
Such a sweet bag to make, thanks for sharing.xx
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