Teacher Tote Bag Tutorial

I love bags like these. They are perfect for just about any use - books, groceries, pool, projects. I made them out of canvas from my stash and left them unlined so they really came together quickly.

 I made these totes as teacher gifts this past year. They are simple to sew and come together quickly. With a small amount of fabric and a little time, you can have an adorable and useful bag. Made out of canvas or home decorator fabric, these unlined bags make great market bags and library bags, too! 

A few notes: If you wanted to make this out of quilter's cotton, you should probably line it. It won't be sturdy enough if you don't. I didn't go into details of how to do this, but it's basically the same as constructing the exterior of the bag. 

 Cut your lining pieces 2 inches shorter in length than the exterior pieces (so 17" wide by 18" long), sew the lining like the exterior and then place it in the bag BEFORE you hem the top edge. Line up the side seams and fold the exterior of the bag over the lining. When you topstitch the top hem, it'll catch the lining and keep it in place. Easy peasy.

To make the teacher tote, you’ll need:
• 3/4 yard home decorator or canvas fabric
• 1/4 yard coordinating print for pocket/straps
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Ruler
• Thread to match
1. From the canvas, cut 2 pieces 17” w x 20” l
From the coordinating print, cut 1 piece 9” w x 13” l for the pocket and 2 pieces 20” w x 4” l for the straps.

 

2. To make the pocket, fold and press each short edge 1/2”to the wrong side. Fold the pocket in half, right sides together, so the short edges match. Press the fold. Sew the sides of the pockets using a 1/2” seam allowance. Clip corners and turn right side out. Topstitch folded side 1/8” from edge. 

3. Fold each short end of the straps 1/4” towards the wrong side and press. With wrong sides together, fold the straps in half lengthwise and press. Open the strap and fold the edges to the center crease and press again. Fold along center crease so the raw edges are contained in the middle of the strap. Top-stitch 1/8” from long edges of straps.

4. With the stitched edge at the top and open edge at the bottom, pin the pocket to the front of the tote so that it is 6” from the top edge and centered side to side. Starting at the right top, sew the pocket in place by topstitching 1/8” from the side and bottom edges, backstitching at the beginning and end and pivoting at the corners.

5. With right sides together, pin and then sew the front and back of the bag together along the sides using a 1/2” seam allowance. Press seams open. Serge, zig zag or pink raw edges to prevent fraying. Sew the bottom of the bag together in the same manner. Press the seam open.

6. To form the bottom of the bag, pinch the corner to form a triangle. Make sure that the side seam lines up with the bottom seam and pin the triangle flat. Mark a line across the triangle 1” from the triangle’s point. Backstitching at the beginning and end, sew along the marked line. Repeat on the other corner.

7. Fold and press top edge of bag 1/2” towards wrong side. Fold and press edge 1 1/2” again. Pin the hem in place and stitch around the bag 1/8” from bottom of hem to close it. Topstitch around the bag again, this time 1/8” from top edge.

8. Turn the bag right side out and pin the straps to the exterior of the bag so that the outside edge of the straps are 4” from the side seams. Stitch the straps in place by sewing a box with an “X” through it.

9. Sit back and admire your new tote! Well done.