Friday, July 24, 2015

Charity sewing: perfect quilted tote

I added another project to the "finished" column last night -- another perfect quilted tote!
I used the wonderful pattern by Elizabeth Hartman, and though this is the second perfect quilted tote I've made, for some reason, I struggled a lot with this one (my fault, not the pattern's). It seemed like everything kept going wrong, and I was fixated on every little part since this tote is for an STLMQG charity project, not me, so I really wanted to make sure I got it right. In the end, I'm really happy with it (and also really happy to be finished).
The colors were based on the floral scrap that I used in the middle of each patchwork section (Tula Pink, perhaps?), so I gathered my pink, fuchsia, teal, and aqua scraps and got to work. I always enjoy the process of the quilt-as-you-go on the outside of this bag, and this was no exception.
I had originally planned to use a chevron pattern for the lining until it occurred to me how difficult it would be to line up all the seams, so I eventually settled on this Remix print, which worked out great. I used the chevron for the lining of the pockets, which I think was a fun touch. You can see the little STLMQG label I snuck into the bottom of the zipper pocket in the second pic.
The handles and outside solid are Essex Yarn-Dyed in Steel. I love how this bag (finally) came out, and I hope the recipient does, too!

4 comments:

  1. Love it!! So cute. Approximately how much time do you think it takes to make one of these? It would make such a nice gift

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    1. Amy, it's definitely not a quick sew. I'd say the patchwork and quilting on the exterior take the longest, but it depends on how many fabrics you choose and how fast a sewer you are. It took me several hours.

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  2. It's a beauty of a tote. Lovely fabric choices! I agree that EH's patterns are well written and easy to follow.

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