Look At What I Made!

On Friday night K went out for a guy's night, so I decided to have a little fun of my own.  I had been wanting to try another project on my sewing machine because I haven't had a chance to use it since making my mixer cover.  So when I found this project for a canvas tote bag on Purlbee.com, it seemed so easy I knew I had to try it.  I headed to the fabric store after work for all the necessary supplies and when I got home the living room became my own sewing workshop.  You can use the link above to see the instructions I used, but I've paraphrased their directions below.

The supplies:

1/2 yard of of canvas or other sturdy fabric

1 1/4 yard of webbing for handles

contrasting thread for inside of bag (blue)

matching thread (white)

sewing machine, scissors, ruler (or other measuring tool)

(I used the highlighter to mark where to cut the fabric)

Cut fabric into 2 rectangles measuring 16" long and 14" wide.  Make sure the pattern is going in the same direction on both rectangles.  Cut the webbing in half to make 2 handles.  On the patterned side of fabric, pin the handles 3" in from the sides.

Using the contrasting thread, sew a zig-zag pattern along the top of each rectangle, attaching the handles.  Make sure the stitching is close to the edge.  Handles will be pointing down.

Turn the fabric over so the wrong side is face-up.  Fold over the top edge 1.5".  Press the edge and pin the handle so that it is straight.  Handles will now be pointing upwards.

Using the matching thread, sew the folded edge down 1/4" from the top and 1/4" above the zig-zag stitch.  Your handle will now be attached and the top edge sewn down and finished.

To sew the bag together, pin the two pieces of fabric together with their patterned sides facing in.

Using the matching thread, sew along the sides and bottom about 1/2" from the raw edge.  Remember to backstitch at the beginning and end of each seam.  Then cut off the bottom corners.

After you've cut off the bottom corners, use the contrasting thread to make a zig-zag stitch along the edges of the sides and bottom of the bag.  Make it as close to the edge as you can because this will keep the threads from fraying (see blue zig-zag stitch on right side of fabric).

Turn the bag inside out, press out the corners, and you're done!

These are the two bags I made (with my iPhone for scale).  The original directions on Purlbee.com call this the "Twenty-Minute Tote."  I can tell you that it took me about an hour and 20 minutes, but I am still a beginner.  More advanced sewers can probably finish this much faster, but considering how easy it was, it will probably just take some practice.  This was a really fun project, and now I have a great lunch bag that only cost about $8 to make!

I gave the blue/white one away to a friend, and I want to make some more.  Anybody else want a bag??