Sewing the Basics: Tote Bags

I don't know about anyone else but I have real problems with shopping these days.  More often that not I'll find something I like, but then go - I can make that: better... cheaper...cuter.... etc myself and so I don't buy it - but then of course I never do get around to making said item.

I've been saying that about tote bags forever - The ones I have now are all many years old and falling apart and really really ugly.  I've thought numerous times of just buying new ones, but I can't bring myself to do it, I just keep promising myself to make some.

So finally last week I decided that enough was enough I had to do it.  I was at the fabric store and they had all these heavy weight cottons in really cute prints on sale for $2.49 /yard so I bought a bunch of them and came home and started making them up.

For the first bag I decided to just make up the pattern as I went along.  I measured all my existing bags to figure out how big I wanted it - added seam allowance - enough for french seams as I knew I wanted the bags french seamed as my fabric was all very prone to fraying.  Cut out a front, back, two sides and a bottom and then started sewing all the seams together.  Of course I realised at some point that this was not the most efficient way to make a tote bag - too many seams, too many awkward angles etc

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with this bag - I just knew it was too much work for what it was...
so I resorted back to the internet to look up tote bag tutorials.

I finally settled on the method shown at The Crafty Sisters.  I modified my pattern so that there was now only 1 single pattern piece that included front back, sides and bottom. I even eliminated the bottom seam by cutting the pattern on a fold at the bottom.  So now it was a matter of simply french seaming the two side seams, then french seaming the two bottom edges.  So much easier.

So my lesson for the day - You don't have to always do everything yourself.  Its perfectly acceptable and a lot easier to follow instructions if they already exist.