Little Tote Tutorial . . .

Today I'm sharing the tutorial for a little tote I've made many times over the past couple years.  It makes a quick gift, and is the perfect size for a Bible & Psalter Book for church.

First, cut out your fabric. You will need two pieces 11" (width) x 12" (height) of your exterior fabric, lining, and fusible fleece (or if you prefer to quilt your exterior pieces - cut your exterior, batting and scrap fabric to 12" x 13", quilt the layers together, and then trim to 11" x 12"). You will also need two straps about 18" in length each - you can choose to make them out of fabric or use pre-made.  The ones I used are from Wholeport.com and can be found here.

Iron the fusible fleece to the back of your exterior pieces (unless you have already quilted your exterior pieces). Find the top center of an exterior piece, and pin strap 4" apart. Sew strap close to top edge. Repeat with second exterior piece and strap.

Pin exterior pieces right-side together and stitch with a 1/2" seam allowance. Make sure you don't catch your straps in the stitching.

Now it's time to make the bottom corners. Line up the side and bottom seam and pin. Using a ruler, find the spot where the corner is 3" in width and draw a line with a pen. Using a small stitch length, stitch on this line. Cut off excess corner fabric.

Repeat above steps with lining pieces - but when sewing right-sides together, leave a 4" opening on bottom to turn bag through later. Sew bottom corners same as above.

Turn the exterior of bag right-side out and place inside of lining. Pin the two together.

Sew along upper edge with a 1/2" seam allowance. Do a double-stitch over handles.

Gently pull bag right-side out through opening in lining. Check your seam for any puckers or loose threads.

Pin and sew the opening in the lining.

 Push lining into bag, making sure to push out corners. Carefully iron the top edge of bag.

Top-stitch the upper edge of bag. And you're done!

Here are some variations I've made with the same measurements. 

And for a couple boy versions over the years, I changed the bag dimensions to 12.5" x 9.5" and shortened the straps to 10".

Please let me know if you enjoyed this tutorial, or if there's anything unclear in the directions. 

Thanks for stopping by!