With
summer just around the corner, you'll need a great tote to hold all your
gear for the beach, pool or — gasp! — summer school.
Here's what you'll need:
A needle and thread (or sewing machine)
Scissors or pinking shears
Material for two rectangles of your chosen fabric (cotton or canvas -
cotton work best)
Two pieces of ribbon
Iron-on transfers (optional)
Decorative elements like lace or sequins (optional)
Local craft and fabric stores should have all of these items readily available.
In
Stitches Iron
out any wrinkles in the fabric and then cut your two rectangles. Putyour
fabric right sides together and stitch up the two sides (you can decide
which way you want the bag – deep or wide – or if the bag is
square it doesn’t matter). The seam should be at least 1/2 of an inch.
Iron your seams open. Keeping the right sides together look for the top
of the bag (this is the opening so don’t sew it closed) and zig
zag stitch around the raw edge so it doesn’t fray.
Then fold it over about 1 1/2 inch and pin it. Iron to make sure it’s
nice and straight. Now just straight stitch all the way around, about 1/4
inch from the upper edge. If you are doing this by hand, fold over about
3/4 inch and iron it. Now fold over another 3/4 inch and pin it. Iron to
make straight. Now just stitch all the way around, about 1/2 inch from the
upper edge.
Handle
It To
add the handles make sure you have two lengths of ribbon that are the same
size. Pin one end about 1/3" of
the way in from the edge (side A)
and make it go all the way down to the bottom hem to make the bag stronger.
Pin the other end of it on side A about 1/3"
of the way in from the other edge. Pin it so the ends are both flush with
the bottom hem. Trim the ribbon
a
bit if the handle seems too big. Stitch back and forth three times along
the same stitch line you made on the top hem. Now repeat the entire process
on side B of the bag so you have a handle on each side.
Take
a Bow Decorate your tote however you wish. You can sew or glue funky fabric, add
lace, sequins, graffiti or ribbon – use your imagination! One of the
easiest ways to make your tote complete is by using iron-on transfers. You
can find cute characters or gothic letters, for example.
lllll||
With
summer just around the corner, you'll need a great tote to hold all your
gear for the beach, pool or — gasp! — summer school. 
In
Stitches
Handle
It
Take
a Bow