tote

I have decided I would like to stay at home & do nothing but crafts all day long.

Yesterday afternoon I decided to make a tote/purse/bag.  I found the tote at I am Momma – Hear Me Roar.

Her version is super cute & way more professional than mine. For example, when she says you will be better off using fusable interfacing, she is right. I did not, but next time I most certainly think I will. I also edited it a bit here & there & realized I am absolutely terrible at following directions.

For a first try at anything bag-like (let alone anything “pleated”) I would say mine came out pretty well.

What do you think?

Here is a better picture of it hanging, ie what it would look like on a shoulder, minus the shoulder.

I am pretty darn proud of it. It is soft & floppy & oh so pretty on the inside. Not to mention LIGHT colored on the inside. I HATE when the inside of a bag/purse is dark. HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO FIND ANYTHING IN A BLACK HOLE?!

Also, I have decided the most amazing place to buy fabric is Ikea. Now I know Ikea actually sells fabric, but I think the best color/options/& price are found in the “as is” department (you know the place where they sell the displays & other “damaged” things).

The brown fabric is actually part of a Ikea sofa arm cover. I got it for $3.99 plus a little coupon. For this bag I only used half of the fabric too. The nice thing is it is textured & pretty thick so I will not have to worry about the purse falling to pieces after 1 season of use. Did you notice it is brown? Also a bonus, yay to setting things on the ground & dirt not being noticeable. Even better, if dirt does somehow get on it, completely machine washable – YAY!!

The green fabric was a Hobby Lobby “oops” in their clearance section that was $1.29, again of which I used maybe half.

Here is a better/closer picture of the inside green fabric.

I do love this bag. It feels very cozy & autumn-ish. But at the same time, it is not so heavy that I could not use it in the spring or summer.

Using this pattern loosely I think I also want to make:

• some purses for Christmas for a few select/super lucky folks
• a smaller more pursey less baggy (haha baggy) version for more day to day stuff
• perhaps a bigger, maybe just more padded version for a laptop bag
• enough to go into business & not actually have to find a “real” job —- crap I think I may be dreaming….

Conclusion: this is most certainly a beginner bag. If you can sew 2 pieces of fabric together you are capable of making this bag. Seriously, you can do it. I know you can. Just make sure you give Cheri the credit she is due for the awesome tutorial!!

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