A Great 4th of July Tote!

A dear friend of mine gave me this beautiful red, white and blue material during the winter months. She told me to hold on to it until she found the perfect purse for her material.  When she saw the TOTES MA TOTE designed by Emmaline, she knew that was it.  It looks like summer, right? What is really great, is that this material is an indoor/outdoor fabric. Perfect to take the abuse of summer sun and sand. Let's take a look!

 

This is actually the first pattern from Janelle that I have tried.  I was very pleased with how this pattern was written.  I was overwhelmed at first, when I was cutting out all the pieces to this tote.  I thought it was going to be more work than I was wanting.  However, the cutting ended up being the hardest part (which is usually how it is with me).  Once I started piecing it all together, it actually went pretty quickly.

 

The zipper closure was fun for me, because I have never made one like this with only 1 zipper tab.  It is always fun to learn something new.

 

I also tried out one of Janelle's awesome 'handmade' tags.  It was easy to install and I think it is SO cute on this bag!

 

This tote has purse feet!  Gotta love that!  If you have never added purse feet before, check out my tutorial HERE to learn how easy they are to add to any bag.

 

These little buckles are not too hard to put in.  You do, however, need the correct tools.  If you don't have the eyelets or the eyelet tool, you could always use the button hole maker on your sewing machine.  If you are wanting to sells these....I'd invest in the eyelets. 

 

Check out the grommets for the handles.  I chose to use circle grommets.  You can purchase all the hardware for this bag in Emmaline's store, which is very convenient.  She does live in Canada, however, so consider that when purchasing.  Most of the hardware you can piece together from other online bag hardware shops.  Two of my favorite hardware shops are on Etsy.  

Bagmaker Supply   - they have great discounts

Purse Supplies R Us - they have free shipping all the time

My friend LOVES her tote, as do I.  I wish I had time to make more of these!

 

Thanks for stopping by to check out my new tote.  Now, go make something today! 

Blessings,

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(There are no paid links in this post.  Just spreading the love!)