Step-by-Step Simple Sew: Tote Bag

The Lazy Girl Sewing Method to Making a Simple Custom Tote Bag Using Two Fat Quarters and a Long Piece of Scrap

I’m going to be transparent. I’m a lazy seamstress. I like simple projects, sewing short-cuts, and nothing that involves too much math and/or precision and/or color-matching (The color wheel never really sunk in for me). Additionally, I want to use up as much fabric as possible so I don’t have to store the little pieces of scrap that I’ve collected because I can’t bring myself to waste good fabric (I’ll use it for some project someday. I’m sure.). I also can’t help but grab a handful of cute fat quarter fabric at my favorite box store or, as I dabble in the dark arts of design, order several swatches from Spoonflower. What’s a girl to do with loud, mismatching, fabric? Make a custom tote bag!

This project only requires two fat quarters, plus a wide and long strip of fabric. Completely beginner friendly, or a “zone-out and sew” project for the more experienced, this tutorial will walk you step-by-step through the process. In the end, you will have a fun bag that can be your own statement piece or a fun gift to a friend. Let’s get started!

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Collect the things you will need.

Step 1: Things you will need

•  2 Fat Quarter pieces 
• (I am using two 21” x 18” swatches from Spoonflower (my personal design here))
• 1-2 pieces – depending on what you got – of wide and long scrap fabric 
• (I used a 48” x 6” then cut it in half for 2 pieces of 24” x 6”)
• Pins and/or clips
• Scissors and/or rotary cutters
• Iron and Ironing Board
• Fabric ruler (or regular ruler)
• A fabric marking tool (I used a fabric marker, but I’m not opposed to ink pens)
• Sewing machine (though you can stitch it by hand if you want to)

 Prep the Bags

Step 2: Decide which fabric you want as the outside of the bag and which fabric will be the inside of the bag (also called the liner).

For this tutorial, I used Lettuce Tomato Onion as the liner and Sammie & Chaaps as the outside of the bag. 

Step 3: Decide which direction you want your bag to open. Using fat quarters means that when you half the fabric, it will not be square. Meaning, the bag will be wide, shallow, and flat or tall, narrow, and deep. Note: This decision may be dependent on your fabric’s pattern. Some fabrics are directional, meaning there is an “upside-down” to the pattern. 

Lazy Girl Pro Tip: Go for random patterns that can go any which way. Then you don’t have to think too hard about it. Both of the fabrics I'm using are random.

I went with a wide bag with the top opening being the widest part of the fabric. 

Step 4: [optional for the not-so-lazy girl]: Wash your fabric. Although washing is not required, there is some merit to the method. It allows the fabric to pre-shrink (so when someone goes to wash the final product it won’t warp) and it can also get out extra dyes or factory smells.   

Step 5: Iron all your fabric pieces. As much as my lazy girl instincts want to resist this, it is absolutely required to, at least, iron your fabrics. Especially before you cut them! Folds can be misleading which will throw off your measurements.

Step 6: Cut your fabric in half. How you do that is up to you! Fold then cut or measure then cut. Don’t eyeball it. You need all four pieces to be the same size. Trim as needed.

Step 7: Align. Place both pieces of the outside fabric with “right sides” touching (pattern facing pattern). Repeat for the liner of the bag.

Step 8: Pin. For the outside fabric, pin down the sides and completely across the bottom. For the liner, pin down the sides and across the bottom leaving about a 3–4-inch gap.

 Lazy Girl Pro Tip: I like clips instead of pins. They are easy on and off with less poky. However, for this bag design, I stick pins where I need to stop sewing (to place the gap). As I’m on autopilot sewing straight lines, the pins indicate to mind the gap.

Step 9: Sew. Attach using ½ inch seam allowance (a.k.a. the space between the edge of the fabric and your stitch line should be ½ inch) for both fabrics. Don't forget to leave the gap for the liner fabric! 

Step 10 [optional for the not-so-lazy girl]: Iron open your seam allowances. My lazy girl always revolts when I do this. However, it makes the final product lay flatter and look cleaner once it’s put together. The way I like to do this step is to fold back one side of the seam and press. Then, flip over to the other side, fold back, and press. You can watch this video to see my technique.

 

Square Corners 

There are several ways that folks do this part. But this method is one that I find the easiest, yet still is one of the most complicated for this project. It’s not lazy girl as it requires some thought, but it is a great technique once you master it. I’ll try to explain, but also attached a video.

Step 11: Pop the corners.

First, put your hand inside the bag and place a finger in the corner. With your other hand, pinch the tip of the bag and remove your finger. With both hands, align the seams so that they are touching (back-to-back) and pull out to flatten the corner.  Iron in place.

Step 12: Measure and mark your corners. Using a fabric ruler or your regular ruler, mark about 2 inches up the seam (away from the newly flattened corner). Draw a straight line across to form a triangle. Pin or clip in place to avoid shifting.  

Step 13: Sew. Sew along the line you just drew.

Step 14: Cut. We are going to do something really scary. Cut the excess! From the sewing line you just stitched, use scissors or your rotary cutter to cut approximately ¼ inch away from it.

Step 15: Repeat steps 11-14 for all the other corners.

Step 16: Flip and check. I like marveling at my corners, so feel free to flip the fabric right sides out to see how you did!

Making the Straps

Straps can be long or as short; fat or narrow; depending on your fabric and/or preference. For this design, I used a 48”x6” then cut it in half to get 2 pieces of 24”x6”. If you don’t have quite enough fabric for a long strap, you can always piece together some fabric to make one (see this tutorial for how to do so). There are, of course, more fancy and complicated ways to make straps, but this method is Lazy-Girl approved!

Step 17.1: Fold and press. Fold the strip of fabric in half lengthwise (like a hotdog). Press in place. 

Step 17.2: Open the fabric back out. You now have a guideline down the middle of the fabric.

Step 17.3: Take one “raw” edge of the fabric and line it up to the middle crease. Iron it in place. Do the same for the other side. 

Step 17.4: Once both edges are pressed toward the middle, fold the entire strap in half (like a hotdog again) sandwiching the raw ends inside. If needed, o
in or clip the length of the strap to hold it together.  

Step 18: Sew. Top stitch (stitch as close to the edge as possible) along the entire length of the strap on both sides.

Step 19: Repeat for the other strap.

Attaching the Strap

Step 20: Flip outside of bag. Grab the outside of the bag and flip it so right sides are out (pattern facing out).

Step 21: Mark and pin. On one side of the bag at the very top (the opening), measure about 3” away from the seam toward the middle of the bag and mark. This is where one side of your strap will start. Pin the raw edge of the strap to the raw edge of the bag. 

Step 23: Repeat and pin the other end of the strap. Measure about 3” from the other seam on the same side of the bag and mark. This is where the other end of the strap will go.

Lazy-girl Pro Tip: I never know which way the strap is supposed to rest. I always get it flipped over, or all goofy looking. So, my go-to method to keep my straps straight is to do a U-ie. Make a U with the strap and fold it out like a book. Watch this video for an example.

Step 24: Sew. Top stitch the strap in place. Be careful not to sew the bag shut. You just want to sew one side of the bag.

Step 26: Repeat for the other strap on the opposite side of the bag.  

Putting it all together

Step 27: Take the outside of the bag (right sides facing out and straps hanging down) and stuff it into the inside of the bag (right sides facing in). Your resulting piece should have the right sides touching each other.

Step 28: Pin. Line up the seams on both pieces and pin around the top of the bag.

Step 29: Sew. Top stitch ½ inch around the entire top of the bag. Make sure your straps are not bunched around the top edge to avoid sewing them in.

Step 30: Pull through. Remember that gap we created at the very beginning (see Step 7)? Well, grab your outside piece and pull it through flipping the whole bag right sides out. You will have this fun fabric amoeba going through mitosis.

Step 31: Sew the Gap. You still have the gap to contend with. There are many ways to sew this up. You could slip stitch by hand to hide the thread. However, the Lazy-Girl approved method is to just tuck the seam allowance in and top stitch.

Step 32: Stuff. Push the liner inside the bag making sure the corners are touching.

Step 33: Iron. Press the top edge of the bag to lay flat and crisp.

Step 34: Sew. Top stitch around the top of the bag as close to the edge as you can.

You are done!

 

The best thing about this bag is that there are so many ways to modify it. You can make it any size and any shape. You can add long straps or short straps. You can add ties or buttons to close the top. You can even add pockets!

 If you are just starting out sewing or are a veteran seamster, I hope you can take this project and make it your own!