Oversized Beach Tote in Urban Green and a Tutorial

An over-sized beach tote in the fabulous Urban Green! 

Downloadable PDF Version

You may recall Annie sewed a purse out of this fabric design.  The fabric used for this oversized tote is in a home dec weight from Contemporary Cloth.  Check out all the Urban Green fabrics here!

I have a number of oversized beach totes for sale in my Etsy shop, but you can make your own using the tutorial I first published over at Ready, Set, Craft!

The tote would be a great gift for a practical Mother!

I consider myself a bag lady.  If we can get it in a bag, we can sling it on our shoulder and off we go.  With four kids in tow, our many trips to the beach were an adventure.  My husband suggested I make some over-sized bags to stash blankets and beach toys.  This bag, measuring 25" wide x 28" long, is holding 8 towels!  It's showing some wear, but it is at least 10 years old.  So, if you have more than 2.4 kids or even if you want a roomy tote for your beach quilt, this is a simple and satisfying project.

Supplies:

• 1 1/2 yard of 44" wide fabric or 3/4 yard of 54" wide fabric 
• 2 yards of webbing for the handle
• a cutting mat is shown here, but is not necessary for the project.  Simply use rulers or measuring tape.

Instructions:

1.  In this example, I am using a 44" wide fabric.  Because this bag is extra deep, I folded the fabric so that the selvedges lined up.  (Click here to see if you need help with preparing this fabric.)  With a 54" wide fabric, a standard fold is fine.

2.  Cut the fabric at 27" wide.

3.  Fold fabric right sides together.

4.  Stitch along sides of bag using a 1/2" seam allowance.  On the selvedge side, the seam allowance is larger to make sure the white selvedge does not show on the right side.  No further finishing is necessary on the selvedge seam.  On the other seams, you can serge, stitch and then zig-zag or pink the edges, whichever finishing methods you prefer.

5.  Take a stitched corner and pull apart the sides so that a triangle is formed and the side seam is in the center.

6.  Even out the triangle and use a ruler to find the point where it is 9" across.  Draw a line at this point.

7.  Stitch along the line.  Cut off the triangle and finish the seam.  This creates a boxed bottom for the bag.

8.  Repeat step 6 and 7 for the other corner.  Press all seams.

9.  Fold 3" of the top edge of the bag to the inside and press.

10.  Fold the raw edge under 1/2", press and pin.

11.  Stitch the top hem close to the folded edge and go completely around the circle of the bag.

12.  Lay the bag open with seams to side.  Mark a line 8" from the seam edge on both sides.

13.  Fold the strap under 1" and place to the left side of the marked line (or to the right of the marked line on the right side).  

The fold of the strap should be two inches below the top.

Secure with pins.

14.  This part is the most difficult in the entire process.  Below you see the finished stitching from the outside of the bag.  I stitch it from the inside.   Starting with a backstitch to lock the stitches, I sew around the rectangle.  Then I stitch one diagonal line, stitch across the bottom and stitch the second diagonal line.  You can stitch it in any manner you wish.  The main idea here is to reinforce the handles.

15.  Enjoy your bag for picnics, trips to the beach, stashing sweatshirts in your car, ....

Knit Bits

T-Shirt Memory Quilt Giveaway Here

Oh knitting, I have not abandoned you.  Even though I found my Blue Jeans Lace Shawl in the glove compartment.....tucked away during some college visit or other....I have been sneaking around with my sewing.  We have been meeting late at night, and even in broad daylight!  Please forgive me!

Dear knitting, just so you know that I love you, let me show you how you move me....

Have you seen these adorable socks on Purl Bee?  I can hardly wait to make some!  

I had the good fortune to "meet" Grace who has a fabulous shop on Etsy called Knit Art By Grace.  She sells the most adorable pattern tutorials for felting crochet and knit bags.  She was very kind to help me with some information about patterns on Etsy.

Finally, I have to share this adorable teddy bear and his newly knitted scarf.  The newest member of my knitting club, a sixth grader, was a quick-learning student.  She made this wonderful scarf for her bear out of a lovely wool.  She should be proud that she was the only member to finish an item this year!

T-Shirt Memory Quilt Pattern

I am thrilled to tell you that I have written my first sewing pattern!   To celebrate, I am sponsoring a GIVEAWAY! (The pattern is available for sale on my Etsy shop here or by clicking on the picture in the side bar.)

This easy pattern will guide you through the steps to make a perfectly practical T-shirt quilt.  My design uses polar fleece to make a soft back, eliminating the need for batting.  This machine washable quilt, is ideal for:

• high school and college graduates; it makes a wonderful gift and preserves memories while being used as a throw they can take with them.

• use as a stadium blanket;  save up your favorite sports-themed T-shirts.

• turning your husband’s or student’s giant T-shirt collection into a comfy throw.

• a picnic blanket.

• preserving memories of a loved one.

• eliminating storage of T-shirts without eliminating the memories.

• a decorative wall hanging.

This quilt is a handmade gift that you will want to make time and again.  I have made dozens and have developed this pattern and the most straight-forward method to achieve quality results. 

The finished size of the quilt is approximately 4' x 5' and the pattern is written for a beginner/intermediate sewer.

I have only recently started photographing my finished quilts.  As soon as they are finished they are given away.  I have made all but one of my nieces and nephews a quilt as they graduated high school.  (You'll see a lot of Catholic schools in theses photos because tradition runs strong in my family!)  I have also made quilts for the children of friends.  Most of the quilts I have made have been for high school grads.  One quilt, however, was made for the brother of a boy who was killed in a tragic accident.  The boy was 12, the same age as my son at the time.  With each stitch, my heart broke, thinking of those poor parents and little brother.  It was my hope that the quilt, made with old T-shirts and clothes, would be like wrapping memories around the younger brother.

If you look closely you can see I've used tank tops and placket shirts.  Anything goes as long as I can fit in in my square!

I

I make these quilts for customers via word-of-mouth.  If any of you might be interested in having me make a quilt for you, please contact me.

I want to keep the contest simple.

The prize:  one T-Shirt Memory Quilt Pattern, PDF format.

To enter:  please follow my blog via subscription/reader/follow and leave me a comment, as well as a way to reach you if it is not in your profile.

Winner will be selected at the end of of May 9th, Mother's Day and will be notified by email.

If you want to blog, tweet, Facebook to spread the word, that would be nice, but not required.

Blowing Off

Lest you think I'm just...
- scrubbing bathrooms
- doing laundry
- preparing three meals for a family of six
- staying on top of the college applications
- trying to decide on the school for my youngest son
- driving kids to school, baseball, concerts, musicals,...
- taking walks with my daughter
- jumping rope
- working
- taking a simple photography class at the library
- writing my first sewing pattern
- planning a graduation party
- thinking about spring cleaning (yeah, I'm only thinking it!)
- planning what trips the family will take (I have a 25th college reunion and, oh yeah, I have another kid looking at colleges for next year!)
- contemplating my purpose in the world
- whining about all of the above....

I DID do a little sewing.......

This is the dress my daughter will wear for the spring concert.  She and my son both play instruments for a Cleveland youth chorus and get to perform on the "big stage" twice a year.  It's tradition for me to make my daughter's dress.  She plays piano.  I hope to have model shots soon, but her typical day is 12 hours long.  (This week her schedule includes rehearsals and driving lessons - yep, that daughter.)  We have to shop for shoes and then I have to hem the dress.  I'm excited that I have this finished and the concert isn't until May 23rd!

The chorus has very strict dress codes.  I try to honor those codes in the dresses we select.  Plus, I like a dress that isn't cut down to the belly button on a 16 year old girl.  (Even the one she wore last weekend was a little lower-cut than my taste, but my mom bought it for her...and my mom, who was so strict about what I wore thought it was ok....)

I love the bias cut, how it just flows over the curves.  I will have a complete pattern review when I get the model shots.  Also, if any of you are fashionistas, can you help me out?  What would be the best, least expensive undergarment, for wearing under a bias-cut dress?  It does cling and I can't stand to see lines.