Over the last little while, I’ve been making my Pay it Forward giveaway gifts. Inspired by some little patchwork squares I’d experimented with in the colours favoured by the first of my three winners, I decided to make her a tote bag. I hadn’t made one before and didn’t have a pattern, but went ahead with it anyway, making it up as I went along. I liked it so well when it was done, that I decided to make some more, and learned a lot in the process. I thought I’d share what I learned with you, so am offering this tutorial for the round tote bag pictured above, about 16 inches across.



To begin, cut four discs that are a ½ inch larger than you want your finished product to be. Although I did patchwork on my other tote bags, I liked this fabric so much that I decided to not break it up. So I cut two discs of the outer fabric and two discs of the lining (a beautiful navy blue silk taffeta). Cut two discs of batting the same size as your fabric and pin your quilt sandwiches. Once done, quilt as desired. I tried something new and quilted something that ended up looking like my Spirograph experiments when I was a kid. When you're done with your quilting, you'll need to cut two sets of six inch wide lengths of fabric that are 3/4 of the circumference of your bag, plus another six inches. In this case, I didn’t quilt these pieces, but in future, I’ll do so.

I did mine in both lining and outer fabric, but you may wish to use a contrasting or complementary fabric instead. Right sides together, sew a 1/4 inch seam along both sides, press, turn inside out and then hem up the ends with a slip stitch or decorative top stitch. If you are quilting this piece, remember to attach your batting strip on TOP of your fabric sandwich so that when you turn it inside out, the batting will be on the inside. Quilt the strips as desired. Set aside one strip.

Taking the other strip, pin it to one side of the disc, outer sides together, remembering to reserve the six inch tail. When pinning the strip, don’t forget to balance it so that the portion of strip not pinned to the disc is evenly proportioned, with the open space at the “top” of your design. Sew the strip down. So that the tote would be able to take a fair amount of weight, I seamed each side four times. Once complete, it should like this:



Repeat on the other side. Iron.

Next, cut two strips of binding fabric, 2 inches wide and as long as the “mouth” of your bag is. Attach the binding as you would on a quilt, sewing the outside portion first. When sewing the back of the binding on, tuck it behind the batting seam



and fold over. Pin.



Sew!



Once that portion is completed, turn the bag right side out again, and following the outside of the disc, sew a seam that encloses the inner seam of batting and fabric sandwich inside a new hem.



On the outside, it will look like this:



And on the inside, it will look like this:



Pretty!

Okay, we’re in the home stretch now. First we’re going to make a loop. Take your six inch tail that’s left over, fold it over on the inside of the bag , pleating or gathering the fabric as is your preference, pin and make several passes over it with your sewing machine. You want it to be sturdy!



Taking the long reserved strip (quilted or un-quilted) that you set aside earlier, attach it to the opposite side of your tote bag, in a similar way as the loop you’ve just sewn on. Once your rows of sewing are complete, pull the strip through your loop making sure that the end of the strip will be on the inside of the strap, and adjust the length until it’s a comfortable shoulder to waist ratio. Pin with a safety pin. Sew the strap down, once more using several rows of stitching for sturdyness.



You’re done!

Because the recipient of this gift is a girly-girl (like me), I decided to add a bow, made out of the same silk taffeta as the lining and using similar principals as above: a four inch wide strip, seamed right sides together, turned inside out and pressed. I tied it onto the bag to adjust the tails to the right length and then closed the ends of the tails. I have just tied the bow on as the recipient may wish to remove it at some point, but for myself, I would sew the bow on.

And that was the last of my giveaways for the Pay It Forward project. I don’t know who began this Pay it Forward meme, but I want to take this opportunity to thank them for such a wonderful, tangible way to say “thank you” to the Universe (in my ethos) for the happiness in my life. I was given so much as I worked on these projects, because during the construction of each one, I focussed on all that I’ve been given, and was filled with thankfulness for the joy I have in my life.

Thank you to all who have participated and who will continue to participate in this amazing project. And remember: when you receive something good, or sweet, or lovely in your life, Pay it Forward!