Sewing School 2: Trio of Totes

For our second sewing class, one of my students wanted to make a tote bag for her little boy's preschool adventures. This particular nursery school prefers totes to backpacks. My kids use backpacks, but I always need a good sturdy bag for winter boots, snow pants, etc. during the all-too-long winters around here. This red bag is the one I made for Andy. It is a nylon (quick dry) canvas from fabric.com and I really like it!

Here's a view of the square bottom. My friend was amazed how easy this was. She thought there would be extra gussets sewn it. She loved my magical method!

I used flat-felled seams, which look nice and are very sturdy!

Here's the bag my friend made. It has her little boy's initials embroidered on it, too! Don't you love the truck twill??

Here's the prototype I started with. This is a beautiful "town toile" for Tampa, Florida. I found it at a discount store for $1.99/yd!! This bag is larger, more for the beach. I didn't buy enough webbing, so the straps end at the side, rather than going underneath. This one needs a little sturdy plastic to line the bottom.

I had a hard time getting a good picture of the fabric, but it's very pretty! Visit towntoiles.com for more of their fabrics, but not for $1.99/yd!!
Last, I share a view of the harbor in Maine. We took the kids to York's Wild Kingdom this week and this was our view at dinner: gorgeous!