DIY

I recently made 48 bags for our daughter’s wedding.  The first 29 were all unique, with different embellishments, handles, and facing.  But when I hit a time crunch, the remaining 19 bags were made quick and easy.

You might remember my post from making 20-minute totes for Lauri’s wedding. They turned out really nice but I didn’t like the unfinished edges.  It was just a matter of time before those babies unravel.  So I now have a new method to make totes and all the edges are finished.  This takes longer than the “20-minute tote” but I think the clean finish is worth it.

Because all of the totes were denim and there was no special one-way print on them, I was able to get rid of that bottom seam.

Small Tote,  12″  x 13.5″ bag

Cut a piece of 14” x 30” denim

Cut 2 22” pieces of webbing for handles

Attach handles 3 inches from each side

This is when you should put any embellishments like pockets, appliques, or yo-yos on.

Turn under ½ “, stitch 3/8” from edge

Turn under 1”, stitch 7/8” from edge , Make sure the handles are pushed up when you stitch them.

Top stitch.

Put WRONG sides together

Stitch ¼” from each side.

Turn wrong sides out, press.

Stitch ½” from edge on both sides

Turn right side out, press.

Done

Easy Peasy!

I pinned this from Marthastewart.com months and months ago:

And I had it repined 404 times. My most popular repin as Pinterest likes to tell me in those emails it sends me so I feel special.

I’ve been saving old denim jeans and bits and pieces of denim for years.  And I had a big project that I did recently involving denim.  So I had lots of small slices of denim.  Also have a pillow form just waiting to be used.

So here’s what I made:

I’m not a quilter but this is really easy.

I went out to Martha Stewart Living for guidance, you can click here for instructions.  After reading them, I decided I could do it easier.

My pillow form was 24” square.  Since I wanted the pillowcase to be a little tight, I made the case 23” square with a 2” flange.

I decided to make  4” logs.  So my first piece was a 4 ½” square. 

I used ¼” seam allowances. 

Cut

2          4 ½” x 4 ½”

2          8 ½ ” x 4 ½”

2          12 ½”  x 4 ½”

2          16 ½”  x 4 ½”

1          20 ½”  x 4 ½”

I finished it with a 3 1/2” border

2           20 ½’  x 4”

2           27 ½’  x 4”

Then just pieced it together.

I quilted it “in the ditch” on to a piece of fleece.

Then used denim for the back.

2          28″ x 17” pieces of fabric

Made a slipcover style pillowcase following my instructions here.

Sew 2” from all sides to create the flange.

Insert pillow.