Tote Bag tutorial

TOTE BAG TUTORIAL

If you are a mom you know how hard it is to find a bag that fits YOUR needs! I have two in cloth diapers and one of my boys has special needs while the other is asthmatic. Trying to find a bag that is big enough to take everything with me when we leave is just crazy ridiculous so what did I do, I came up with a way to make a bag so that I COULD make a bag that WORKS for US! 

Supplies:

• 1/2 yard of outer base fabric (I used home decor fabrics)
• 1 yard of upper and lining fabric
• 1 – 2 yards of ribbon for ribbon and/or bow
• scrap fabric for flower/other embellishments

Before you get started on sewing your bag you will need to cut your pieces out, I have posted what I use below:

Now you are going to take one of your upper fabrics and place right sides together with your lower fabric and stitch across the top. once you have sewn the two pieces together you will then pin your ribbon in place where you want it over the seam you just made.

Sew your ribbon to your bag piece. You will need to repeat the above steps for your other pieces as well! 

Place both of your bag fronts right sides together. Make sure to line up your ribbon and then sew around the edges leaving the top open. Repeat this step with your lining fabric as well! 

Pull your fabric from the corners that you just created and sew about 3" down from the point, do this on both sides of the front of your bag as well as the liner

You will need to sew your straps now. Sew down both sides of your strap pieces leaving the ends open, be sure to pull them rightside out when you are done

Iron all of your pieces to get rid of the creases and create the boxy bottom of your bag

Once you have ironed your pieces you will need to sew your straps onto the front of the bag. Make sure you do this on rightside of the bag.

Now that both of your handles are attached you will put the outside of your bag inside the liner pieces with right sides together and sew around the top leaving about and inch by one of the handles open.

Where you left that hole you will pull your bag rightside out from it. You should get something that looks like this when you are done:

Push your liner inside your bag and sew around the top edge about 1/8" from the top. Be sure to fold the fabric inward where you left the hole

If you are going to embellish your bag you will need to make a bow and sew it onto your bag now. (I will be seam ripping my bow off this bag in the morning and redoing it but for now it works so I can get this up for you all)