Aida's Tote Bag of Total Awesomeness

Aida finished her tote bag!!!  Hooray!!!! And it is awesome! 

Aida has been working on this tote bag for months.  I now it seems like years to her, but really only months :). While working on it she had life  go all crazy on her:   job stress, she moved, etc.etc.  You name it. She came to see me when she could on Friday afternoons and we sewed. 

This bag is a testament to perseverance and persistence. She was going to finish it, damnit, if it took her the rest of her life!  So Super Kudos to Aida for sticking with the project that never seemed to end! 

We used my tote bag pattern and lesson.  This bag is made to the exact measurements in the pattern. We followed the pattern almost exactly except for a few additions. 

We added TONS of pockets!!! This bag has two water bottle pockets on the insides. The water bottle pockets have elastic on the top inside hem which holds the bottles in nicely. These pockets are also great for umbrellas, sippy cups, baby bottles,.....

There is a small pocket for her phone and a larger pocket on the other side  big enough to hold a library book!

This is  bag design genius to me: a place for water AND a library book. Sweet!  

View of the inside.  Look at how much space she has!

Here is a close up of the side bottle pockets.  That's a peppy  polka dot lining, isn't it?
Aida picked the polka dots because they made her happy :) :) 

Look at the super cute  lace on the pockets. This was a little bit she had left over from her skirt she made  out of this same material.  We added the lace to the top of the pocket BEFORE applying the bias tape.

We applied interfacing to the  outer body main piece. The fabric is lovely,  soft and  thick but it is a bit floppy. It needed a little bit of body.  By ironing on interfacing to the back of the face fabric, it gives the bag a little more body and structure. It can sit up all  on its own!

The outer material is reversible! She used one side for the main body and pockets of the bag and then used the other side for the straps. 

 We had talked about maybe adding a bottom to the bag, to make it  even more sturdy. She did it! She used a rectangle of Peltex, the super stiff  kind, cut to the dimensions of the bag after the corners were put in.  ironed it onto the bottom inside of the bag and then zig zagged around it to secure it into place. Then she added the lining and hemmed the top. 

The zig zagging barely  shows!

She did change the hem slightly from the pattern.  She folded it down 1/2 and then folded it again about 2 inches. The top hem of her bag is even with where the straps stitching lines are. It makes the bag a touch shorter but it gives it a really cute look on the inside. 

Aida also used this material to make a skirt . Here she  is modeling it.  

She later added lace to the bottom.  It just gives it that little bit of pizazz. 

Great job on your tote bag Aida!!!!

 I can't wait to get a picture of you wearing your skirt carrying your matching tote bag!!!

:)