Hey everyone! Today we're making a big, useful tote bag, and you'll learn how a quilt kit with lots of coordinated fabric can give you a patchwork tote and still leave you plenty to sew with.
Meet the fabric first
This is the Boundless Casserole Quilt Kit by Elizabeth Hartman.
It is a Craftsy Bluprint kit.
The title tells us the total right up front.
There are 14 1/2 yards in all.
The kit includes the pattern.
It includes binding fabric.
It includes fabrics for the top.
It includes 10 7/8 yards of background fabric.
One is Kona solids.
One is Ten-Square prints.
One is Ten-Square wovens.
With the full kit, the possible finished quilt dimensions are about 58 by 58 inches, or about 86 by 86 inches.
The listed end uses are crafts and quilting.
Here is what I use and why.
I love a kit like this for a tote.
The colors already work together.
I do not have to audition ten bolts.
The project: a big, useful tote bag
We are making a tote about 16 inches wide, 15 inches tall, with a 4-inch boxed bottom.
Why does this kit suit it?
A tote wants variety on the outside.
The layer cakes give you that variety in one place.
Then use some of that background fabric inside.
It makes a clean lining you can actually see into.
A tote only needs a small slice of this kit.
You will still have fabric left for quilting.
Completely up to you how you divide it.
Materials list
- The Boundless Casserole Quilt Kit by Elizabeth Hartman — includes Pattern, binding, and fabrics for the top - 14 1/2 yards, for the squares, background fabric, and binding strips below
- 8 layer cake squares for the outside — 4 for the front, 4 for the back
- About 1/2 yard of the kit background fabric for the lining
- About 1/4 yard of the kit background fabric, or leftover binding fabric, for two handles
- Low-loft batting, two pieces about 17 by 16 inches, or fusible fleece if you prefer
- 50-weight thread for piecing and construction
- A size 80/12 needle for the piecing and assembly
- Pins, a ruler, a rotary cutter, and good scissors
Brief steps
First, choose your eight squares.
Lay out four for the front.
Lay out four for the back.
Sew each set of four into a two-by-two block.
Use a 1/4-inch seam allowance.
Set your stitch length around 2.5 millimeters.
That is about 10 to 12 stitches per inch.
Press the seams, then trim each panel to about 16 1/2 by 15 1/2 inches.
Layer each panel with batting.
Quilt it simple.
Stitch in the ditch around the squares.
Or echo the seams about 1/4 inch away.
My pick is stitch in the ditch.
Cut two lining pieces the same size as your panels.
Cut two handles, each 4 by 24 inches.
Fold each handle in half lengthwise, press, fold the raw edges in, press again, and topstitch both edges.
Pin one handle to the front panel, about 3 1/2 inches in from each side.
Do the same on the back.
Sew the front and back together at the sides and bottom, right sides together, with a 1/2-inch seam.
Box each bottom corner at 4 inches to make the flat base.
Sew the lining the same way, and leave a 5-inch opening in one side seam.
Put the tote inside the lining, right sides together.
Sew around the top, turn it right side out through that opening, and close the opening.
Topstitch around the top edge, about 1/4 inch down.
Just like that, you have a tote.
Practical tips from my sewing room
Go slow where the layers get thick.
Slow down or the needle snaps, especially at the handle joins.
That is the mistake I made once.
I barreled over a handle join.
The needle let me know right away.
The fix was simple.
New needle, slower speed, and I walked it over that bump by hand for two stitches.
No drama.
Test your quilting on one spare square first.
And listen, it does not have to be perfect.
You are your own worst critic.
Take your time, it's not a race.
If I can do this, y'all can do it.
One last note from the listing, said plainly once: there are no returns on this item, so read the kit contents above before you order.
Thanks for sewing along with me today, folks.
We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop the Boundless Casserole Quilt Kit by Elizabeth Hartman - includes Pattern, binding, and fabrics for the top - 14 1/2 yards at Linda's Electric Quilters.
