My Finished Totes Ma Totes Bag

Hi! What did you do over the weekend? I'll tell you what I did... I sewed the Canadian flag quilt that I posted about yesterday for a customer order. Once that was finished I sewed my very first Totes Ma Totes bag. This is a bag pattern from Emmaline Bags.

I made the bag with fabrics that were gifted to me by sewing friends. The fabric on the outside of the bag is a Kokka fabric and I am just thrilled with how it turned out on the bag. It came as a printed panel and I was very strategic in cutting it so I could use as much as possible in my bag.

In addition to buying the pattern from Emmaline bags I also bought the hardware kit from them as well. The "Handcrafted MADE IN CANADA" bag label is not part of the kit but is a fun add-on to the bag. It is also available from Emmaline Bags. (This is not a sponsored post. I just love Emmaline Bags!)

This is the back of the bag cut from the same Kokka panel. The handles and lining were gifts from the days when I was in the Canuck B-Day Club. All the fabrics I used are heavier than quilting cotton. They are more of a canvas weight so I did not have to interface them.

I used my ever handy and useful Crop-a-Dial from my scrapbooking supplies to set the eyelets on the straps. It worked perfectly!

View from the top! The star fabric came directly from Japan. The pink sewing machines were part of the Kokka panel.

The inside of the bag. This bag has three pockets! A dual slip pocket (pink floral), a zipper pocket (barely visible above the pink floral with a pale blue zipper) and a magnetic snap pocket (blue floral).

The pattern was a challenge for me as it was my first time sewing it. I estimate it took me about five hours to make. One hour of that was cutting. I think I will get faster the more times I make it.

I would recommend this pattern for an intermediate to advanced sewist. Or as Janelle from Emmaline Bags calls us... a bagineer. I will definitely make this pattern again and I love my new bag! I plan to tote all my embroidery, cross stitch and hand sewing projects around with me in this bag this summer as the kids and I enjoy the summer weather.