Why do I torture myself by waiting till the last minute? I started these totes the day before I was supposed to deliver them. Seriously, I was up till the wee hours of the morning finishing them up.
They are part of a gift set that me and a couple of other moms put together for s's teachers as an end-of-the-year gift. The totes were filled with summer essentials including flip-flops, sunscreen, and a bottle of wine. The other two moms also made handmade items: personalized cups and journals and bookmarks made from vintage books. I wish I had taken pictures of the gifts once they were put together. They were truly amazing.
As a former teacher, I am happy to show my gratitude to those who have dedicated their lives to nurturing other people's children. I know from first-hand experience how hard they work.
Okay, I'll get off my soapbox and let you in on the deets. The pattern is
The Jane Market Bag designed by the super-talented Alicia Paulsen of
Posy Gets Cosy. By the way, I am also happy to support our local (Portland, OR) artists and businesses. It's an easy and quick tote, no pattern pieces, just dimensions that you measure out yourself. I changed a few things though. First, I only had pockets on one side because I cut out two pocket pieces and sewed them together thinking that they were lined, then I was in too much of a hurry to pick the seam apart and decided that the bag only really needed the one pocket anyway. I also added a double-stitched seam about two thirds of the way down from the top of the pocket; I just felt that the pocket was too deep without the seam. Another modification that I made was to sew the handles between the lining and the top layer for a cleaner look. The handles were ready-made nylon straps, a nice short-cut which I am sure saved me an hour of so of work.
The lining was made from laminated cotton that I had laying around and the outside fabrics were duck cloth for the solids and outdoor canvas for the prints. The laminated cotton was kind of a chore to deal with. I had to pull the fabric through the feed because it kept getting stuck. I believe that a teflon foot would have helped. Or maybe tape under the foot? And a word of warning on sewing with outdoor canvas. Make sure that your iron is not too hot or you will burn a hole through the fabric. I found this out the hard way.
The pattern's instruction in regards to the pleats on the sides of the bags was to put together the whole bag first, then sew a seam down the side, catching the lining in the seam. Because I was using heavier fabrics than the calico that the pattern recommended, I felt that this was not feasible. So before joining the lining and the main bag, I sewed the pleats on the outside only; the lining was left unatached except for the top.
On a final and somewhat related note, I will leave you with pictures of S on her first and last day of preschool, wearing her Oliver and S playdate dress.
First day of school (above). Last day of school (right).
Look how much she's grown!
