Summer Tote

I decided I needed a new little tote for summer.  Something simple and a bit fun, so yesterday, while in the shower, my ideas finally jelled into a design.  Why ideas come to me then, is beyond understanding!  Anyways, I felt confident I had worked out a fun design  and  got busy drawing, cutting and stitching.  Unfortunately,  a few hours later, when I was done, all I could see was mistakes and was discouraged.  Bah!

Today, I feel a bit better about my efforts and braver about sharing it with you. I'm calling it my "Twist & Tie Tote".

The biggest change to my design involved the seam ripper.  My initial plan had the overall shape with the seams of the tote centered, front and back.  Didn't look as good as I had envisioned, plus it messed up the shape (wrapped piece was too tight and the pocket wouldn't curve with the outline of the tote).  So... I ripped out the bottom of the tote and re-orientated it to what you see below.

The wrapped feature on one side of my tote started out as a bow, but had to be modified due to a insufficient amount of the navy dotted fabric.  Necessity being the mother of invention... I ended up with a "twist" instead of the original planned bow.

The fabric I chose is a good weight for a tote, it holds it's shape nicely without being too stiff, although I did add some light weight interfacing to make sure.  I've had this twill weight houndstooth fabric waiting in my stash after I scored it at a thrift sale a couple of  years back.  It's such a bold fabric and  I was looking to balance it.  Mixing it with a solid blue denim in the same weight meant "bold" didn't have to be overwhelming!  Then for fun, I used one of  my favourite fabrics... Henna Garden from Sandi Henderson, for a shot of green to play off all the navy.  Looks summery together, I think! ;o)



One simple pocket with a matching flap and self covered button breaks up all that houndstooth and adds a little organization to the outside of the tote.

 Inside the tote I went all out with adding some organization.  A hidden, zippered pocket on one side and 2 large pockets and a penholder across from it.  I would be lost without pockets!

The part of this tote that really makes me grin, is the split pieced bottom, encircled by some narrow self-made piping.  That shot of green alongside all that navy is one colour combo I'm seriously crushing on!  Changing the orientation of this bottom piece was worth the extra wrestling it took in sewing.  I love piping, but its one of those details that requires patience and goes better with slow, careful sewing.   When I look at the bottom of this bag, I feel that the results were worth it.

So are you wondering what my major disappointment with this bag is?  Me, the detail orientated sewist that I am, made a fundamental boo-boo in my mad dash to stitch this tote up.  The slip-up is nagging at my perfectionist self and if I had only slowed down to really LOOK at my bag, I would've changed it.  I've been smacking my forehead since, believe me. C'est le vie.  I've just been served some humble pie! LOL  See if you can spot my mistake... ;o)



Do you recognize this tote's design as a spin-off from another bag I designed?  Click here to see my first version!