Hey everyone! Today we're making a festive holiday tote bag, and you'll learn how to box corners and set strong handles.
Here we go.
Meet the Fabric
This is the 12 Days of Christmas Flowers & Pine Gray cotton fabric, from Quilting Treasures.
It comes from the 12 Days of Christmas collection by Julie Lynch for QT Fabrics.
It's 100% cotton, and it runs 44 to 45 inches wide. That's standard quilting cotton width, folks.
This print is the flowers and pine design on gray. Holiday florals and pine, settled on that soft, grounding gray ground. It's festive, but it's not loud. It feels calm and wintry.
The color story in this collection is rich. Teal, jade, and dark turquoise. Joyful red and soft aqua. Charcoal and gray to ground it all. Plus little touches of lime green.
On this gray print, those colors have room to breathe. The gray lets the florals show. And a tote gives you two big, flat sides to show them on. That's exactly why I picked it.
The Project: A Festive Holiday Tote Bag
A good tote is a workhorse, y'all. Perfect for holiday shopping, library books, or a quilt heading to show-and-tell.
Finished size is about 16 inches wide, 15 inches tall, with a 4-inch boxed bottom. Big enough for groceries. Small enough to finish in an afternoon.
Here's why this fabric suits it. Quilting cotton is light and easy to sew. Add fleece, and it stands up nicely. No tiny piecing to chop up that pretty print.
Materials
- 3/4 yard of this Flowers & Pine Gray fabric for the tote outside
- 1/2 yard of coordinating cotton for the lining — try teal, jade, or joyful red
- 3/4 yard of fusible fleece or medium interfacing, for body
- 1 1/4 yards of 1-inch cotton webbing for handles, or fabric to make your own
- Matching thread, 50-weight for construction
- A size 90/14 needle for sewing through thicker handle layers
- Rotary cutter, ruler, pins or clips, and iron
Brief Steps
Step 1: Cut your pieces. Cut two outside pieces, 17 by 16 inches. Cut two lining pieces the same size. Cut fleece the same size, too. Fuse fleece to the wrong side of the outside pieces. Press well and let them cool.
Step 2: Sew the outside. Place outside pieces right sides together. Sew sides and bottom with a 1/2-inch seam. Leave the top open. Press seams open if you can.
Step 3: Box the corners. At one bottom corner, line up side seam with bottom seam to make a point. Measure 2 inches in from the point, draw a line across, and sew on it. Trim the tip, leaving 1/4 inch. Repeat on the other corner. Just like that, your bag stands up.
Step 4: Make the lining. Sew lining sides and bottom the same way. Leave a 4-inch gap in the bottom seam for turning. Box the lining corners at 2 inches, just like the outside.
Step 5: Add the handles. Cut webbing into two 20-inch pieces. Pin each handle to the top edge, about 4 inches in from each side seam, loop hanging down. Baste in place. Slow down here. That's a lot of layers, and a rushed needle can snap.
Step 6: Join and finish. Slip the outside bag inside the lining, right sides together. Match side seams. Sew around the top with a 1/2-inch seam. Turn right side out through the gap. Sew the gap closed. Push lining inside, press the top flat, and topstitch around, 1/4 inch from the edge, at 8 to 10 stitches per inch. For extra strength, sew an X in a square where each handle meets the bag. Completely up to you.
Practical Tips From My Table to Yours
Test your needle first. I once powered through fleece and webbing with a light needle. It did not end well, folks. Swap to that 90/14 before the handles.
Press as you go. A tote looks store-bought when the top edge is crisp. Press, don't push. Lift and set the iron down. Your corners will thank you.
Want a pocket? Cut a 7 by 8-inch square, hem the top, and stitch it to the lining before you sew it together. We're not reinventing the wheel here.
And here's the permission part. It does not have to be perfect. If one boxed corner is a hair deeper than the other, nobody carrying Christmas cookies is measuring it. You're your own worst critic. Take your time. It's not a race.
If I can do this, y'all can do this.
Thanks so much for sewing along with me today. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop the 12 Days of Christmas Flowers & Pine Gray Cotton Fabric 44"/45" Fabric Per Yard at Linda's Electric Quilters.
