Tote Bag Tutorial
Using two Fat Quarters you can Sew a Nice Tote Bag!
Sit and sew? No worries about cutting? Find sewing kits with beautiful fabrics in my Etsy Shop! HERE
This is an easy sewing project and quick to make! You need:
Fat quarter for the outer part and the facing. I call it Fashion Fabric (FF)
( I used a canvas fabric)
Fat quarter fabric for the lining. I used a light cotton fabric.
Optional : Fabric for the pocket.
Any light interfacing like PLF 36 or Pellon 911F
Webbing for the straps.
Thread, pins, scissors and fabric markers.
Iron and sewing machine.
I have a few sewing kits in my shop with all the pieces cut out and ready to sew. Find them here: My Etsy shop
Size of finished bag: 10 ½” wide by 13 ½” tall (depth of 2 ¼”)
26.6 cm wide x 34.2cm tall (depth 5.8cm)
Strap length 22 and a half when finished. (57.2cm) each strap.
Steps in a quick review:
Fuse interfacing to the back of facing and back of pocket.
Serge (overlock) pocket on 3 sides. Not to the top of the pocket.
Finish the top edge of the pocket (fold twice and topstitch or add a binding) and iron the other 3 sides.
Sew facing to lining and topstitch.
Sew label on the facing. (optional)
Sew pocket on the lining. (I like to add interfacing on the back of the lining where the pocket will go - for reinforcement)
Add the straps.
Sew lining and Fashion Fabric at top edge.
Check if the lining should be cut at the bottom to the same length of the FF bag.
Close side seams of lining and FF.
Close bottom seam of FF.
Close the bottom seam of the lining but leave an opening.
Square off corners of FF and lining.
Turn the bag inside out through the hole left on the lining.
Topstitch the top edge of bag.
Remember that between all these steps there is a lot of ironing involved to achieve nice and crisp stitches.
Now lets review each step in detail with pictures:
1: Interfacing pocket and facing.
With the iron fuse the interfacing to the back of the facing piece and the pocket piece. The interfacing for the facing is smaller because it does not include seam allowances.
2 and 3: Pocket
Finish the edge of the 3 sides of the pockets with an overlock stitch. If you do not have one, you can use a zigzag stitch. The top of the pocket should be finished by folding it twice with an iron and topstitching. Or add a binding if you would like. Use the iron to fold to the back the other 3 sides so the pocket is ready to be stitched in place.
4 and 5: Facing and Label
Sew the facing to the lining by placing the pieces right sides together and stitch. Use the iron to iron very well the seam allowances toward the lining. It is optional to topstitch the lining and facing. It can be done now or later.
If you have a label you can stitch it now. I like to place mine on the facing and above where the pocket placement will be so if you would like to wait until the pocket is stitched you can do that too.
Or you can stitch the label on the pocket.
6: Sewing the Pocket
The pocket will be sewn to the lining. Attach the pocket with a pin, aligning the center of the pocket with the center of the lining. In the picture the lining is folded in half with a fold on the left side and the side seam on the right side. When finding the center line remember to take in account the seam allowance for the side seam.
Measure 2 and half inches from the bottom of the facing to place the pocket. I also like to add interfacing to the back of the lining where the pocket will be stitched. Here is where I use straps/scraps of interfacing. Stitch around the three sides of the pockets and reinforce the corners of the pockets with a tiny triangle stitch.
7: Straps Placement:
To add the straps remember to consider the amount needed for seam allowance in the side seam. Then the center line of the front and back of the bag needs to be found by folding the piece of fabric first in half and then in fourths. The straps can be placed on the facing first or on the Fashion Fabric first. The straps will be sandwiched between these two pieces.
I stitched the strap to the facing at less than ¼” from the top edge of the facing. Leave the extra strap webbing there until later.
8: Sandwich the straps between the Facing and the FF.
Place the fashion fabric and facing right sides together and stitch on the top edge. The straps are already sewn to one of these pieces previously so they will be sandwiched in between the facing and the fashion fabric.
Iron very well here so the seam allowances at the top edge fold towards the facing.
I like to add an extra stitch at this step. I stitch down the extra amount of strap webbing left on the back by stitching over the topstitch seen on the lilac lining (where the facing and lining join) . If you wish you could also topstitch at the top edge of the facing. (I did this step later, step 15, as a topstitch on the edge of the FF that can be seen from the outside)
Adding extra stitches for the straps makes me feel better knowing the straps are very securely attached to hold any weight the bag might have.
9: Adjusting length of Lining (important step)
After the straps have been sewn and before step 10 place the bag on a table with the FF facing you, straps are on top and the lining is underneath, check and adjust the length of the lining and cut it down to the same length of the FF.
10: Closing Side Seams.
Now the side seams can be closed. Putting the whole bag with right sides together, lining to lining and FF to FF. Stitch starting at the corner of the lining and sew all the way to the other end of the Fashion Fabric. Place pins as seen in the picture above to hold the bag in place while sewing. Press well with an iron. Opening the seam allowance or not.
11 and 12: Close bottom seams
Close the bottom seam of the FF (fashion fabric) and also the lining but on the lining leave an opening of 3-4 inches. This opening will allow us to turn the tote bag later.
13: Square off Corners
Sew the bottom corners of the FF and lining, creating a triangle and sew at 1 ⅛” inches from the point of the triangle. This will give the depth to the bag and you can make it as wide as you would like by making the stitch at 2” or 3” from the point of the triangle. Just remember that the bigger this measurement is the shorter your bag would look. I like to do my stitch at 1 ⅛” inches so in total the depth of my bag is 2 ¼” as shown below.
Bottom of the bag with the corners squared off. Repeat the same for the lining.
Use the iron to steam the seams so they look flat and nice at the bottom before the next step. Optional too is to trim off the extra fabric after adding the stitch to square off the corners. I tend to leave it in there but I iron it very well.
14: Turn the Bag and Close Bag Completely
Going through the opening left in the lining turn the bag inside out. Just remember to cut any extra hanging threads.
Sew the opening that was left in the lining. Fold seams in, iron and stitch and iron again.
15: Finishing the Top Edge
Optional is to do a last topstitch on the top edge of the bag. This will ensure the lining does not come forward and the straps have one more extra secure stitch. But you can leave it as it is if you prefer that or if you already did a topstitch on the facing in step 4 and 5.
Now the last step is to iron the whole bag very well with lots of steam!
Remember to use an iron shoe for your iron so the fabrics and the straps are safe to the heat of the iron.
I hope you enjoy making this bag. Happy Sewing!!
Isabel
Sew much fun to share this tutorial with you!
And remember that this is not the only way to sew this bag. There are other ways but I feel this is the easiest.
I have Tote Bag sewing kits in my Etsy shop. Only a few left!
I prepared a few sewing kits with beautiful canvas fabrics! All the pieces are cut out so all you need to do is sit and enjoy sewing! Take a look HERE