SUPPLIES & TOOLS:
- 3/4yd Fabric A (Cotton Blender)
- 1 3/4yds Fabric B (Printed Cotton)
- 1/2yd Fabric C (Cotton Blender)
- 1yd Batting
- Pattern Templates A, B, C, and D
- Thread
- Straight Pins
- Needle
- Rotary Cutter, Ruler, and Mat
- Scissors
- Sewing Machine
- Iron
DIRECTIONS:
To find the downloadable patterns click on the "GET PATTERNS" tab above.NOTE: All seams are sewn with 1/4" seam allowances.
- Cut (16) 3"x 12" strips each of fabrics A, B, and C.
- Sew (16) blocks of 3 strips each in the pattern of strip of Fabric A, strip of Fabric B, strip of Fabric C. Press seams open.
- With half of the blocks, sew sets of two blocks together, offsetting one of the blocks by 3" to the right. See Template A, Figure 1. With the second half of the blocks, sew two blocks together, offsetting one of the blocks by 3" to the left. See Template A, Figure 2.
- Cut blocks into 6" wide rectangles on a 45 degree angle to create diagonal stripes. See Template B.
- For front and back of bag, alternate 4 diagonal rectangles to form a chevron pattern, being sure to match and pin seams so all points line up. Sew and press seams open. See Template C.
- Cut (1) 6"x 20" rectangle from Fabric A.
- Sew bottom edge of front of tote to rectangle of Fabric A. Sew bottom edge of back of tote to the opposite edge of rectangle of Fabric A.
- Cut (1) 24"x 36" rectangle from lining Fabric B and batting. Layer pieced tote front and back, batting, and rectangle of Fabric B. Quilt as desired.
- Once quilted, trim excess lining fabric and batting. Fold in half, right sides together, and sew side seams together.
- Cut 2 1/2"x 15" binding strips from Fabric A. Fold and press in half lengthwise. Line up raw edges of binding strip to raw edges of side seams. Stitch in place. Fold over binding and hand stitch in place to cover raw edges of side seams.
- With wrong side out, fold side of tote down to lay flat against the bottom of the tote, centering the side seam on the center of the bottom of the tote. Sew a seam on the diagonal, 2" in on center from the end of the side seam. See Template D. Repeat on other side of tote.
- Cut (2) 4 1/2"x 20 1/2" strips from Fabric B, and (2) 2 1/4"x 20 1/2" strips from batting. Place right sides of fabric together, then layer one strip of batting on the top and bottom of fabric strips, lining up edge of batting to one of the raw edges of fabric strips. Sew along the 4 1/2" edges to form the top binding.
- With right sides of fabric together, and the batting edge of top binding flush to the raw edges of the top of the tote, pin the top binding to the top of tote, matching side seams. Stitch in place.
- Fold over excess fabric of top binding to the inside of the tote. Turn under 1/4" and hand stitch in place. Quilt top binding as desired.
- To form the handles, cut (4) 2 1/2"x 36" strips from Fabric B, and (2) 2 1/2"x 36" strips of batting. With right sides of fabric together, layer batting on top and stitch both sides lengthwise. Turn right side out. Press flat, and top stitch lengthwise along both sides of handle. Repeat for second handle.
- Turn under 1/4" of handle end, then fold over 2". Pin handle in place and topstitch. Repeat for opposite end of the handle and the second handle.
Rated 4 out of
5
by
SarahsewsCA from
Some Edits needed
It's true that this takes more than five hours. I spent various weekend moments on this over one month. The hardest parts were surprisingly not making the perfect Chevron alignment although that was challenging. Finishing the handles, for me, was difficult and so was getting the top of bag binding to fit properly. For the bottom btw need to cut 6 x 24. This is basically a 24 x 36 rectangle bag.
For the binding it's advises to use fabric A which for me was black so I used fabric B my pattern fabric for the binding because I wanted it to look like the example.
FOr the binding I cut 2" x 18" pieces but had to re do the binding and batting because, like adding binding to a neckline, the binding was not long enough. I ripped it and added at least 1/2" to the width and 3.75" to the length. I trimmed the width of the batting about a half an inch so I'd have enough fabric to fold over and tuck a quarter inch, as in the instructions.
To sew the handles I was not able to turn them inside out as suggested instead I sewed up on long side with right sides together, trimmed the batting, put wrong sides together, pressed a quarter inch seam and sewed up the second side. You have to top stitch it Anyways so it doesn't matter you'll still have the line of stitching.
I added pockets to the inside. To stiffen the lining I added felt as an interfacing.
It turns out to be a rather large tote, too big for a purse for me. But, alas, my rooster themed bad for November is done finally. I like how it turned out, even if it did require a lot of editing/ altering.
Date published: 2021-11-28