Dressed Up Canvas Tote

A while ago I got a plain canvas bag to carry my things to church in. I had plans to do something to make it great and just never did anything with it. Then I got a big ink stain on it and I conceded to doing something with it. I used some left over fabric that I had and a flower to embellish it.

What I used:
Canvas Tote
Fabric ( I used two contrasting fabrics)
A flower with rhinestone (got to have some sparkle!)


1. The fabric I used for the bottom was thin so you could see the ink spot through it so I lined the yellow fabric. I decided how high up the bag I wanted the yellow fabric to be. I laid the bag inside out flat and to determine the width to cut the fabric. I added an 1" for seam allowance. I then cut the lining fabric the same dimensions






2. I sewed the sides (it was one piece so the bottom did not need a seam) with the yellow and lining fabric together with the lining on the outside. I sewed the top edge of the yellow and lining together. To mimic the shape of the canvas bag I sewed the corners of the lining and yellow so the bottom will lay flat.

3. I turned the new bottom right side out and sewed it on to the outside of the bag with a seam on the top edge. I had orange fabric that I measured it out to be double the width of the bag and 4 inches wide. With right sides together I sewed it in half length wise, turned it inside out, and pressed it.

4. I sewed it onto the top edge of the yellow sewing the top and bottom edge. I added the flower to embellish it.

5. I used the computer to print and cut out letters for my initials. I ironed on heat transfer paper to the orange fabric and traced the letters BACKWARDS onto them. I cut them out and ironed them to the bag.

then I waited over a year to the point where they were falling off before I did the last step. Oops!

6. Using a zig zag stitch I sewed around all the edges.

bag 004


21 comments :

Just Jaime said...

Looks so cute! Love the orange!

Ashley said...

i love the orange!!!

Jordan McCollum said...

What a great idea! Super cute!

You could also do the zig-zag stitching as a solid satin stitch--make the stitch length as low as possible. It seems fiddly, but I tried it when I made my sun hat this summer and it was actually really easy!

Mel Place said...

awesome ideal,tfs

Love Sweet Love said...

SUCH a great idea-so so cute!

Tara said...

I love the look of this tote! It turned out so cute!

KrissyClarkMcKee said...

This is a wonderful idea! I may do something like this with my youngest daughter to teach her how to sew. This looks like a good project with quick, fun results.

Anonymous said...

Brooke, this is awesome! Makes me want to go eat some candy corn! Thanks for visiting me at studio1404!

Tracy said...

What a cute tote you made. So resourceful.

Shuchi said...

Such a cute bag...love it!!

Natalia Lynn said...

This is too cute!! Look easy enough, wonder if I could do it!

Lindsay said...

So cute! I love simple, yet well made projects! Great job!

Crafty Mischief said...

What a cute way to dress up a plain canvas bag! Thanks for the tutorial! I may have to make one of my own!
Also, thanks for the sweet comment on my blog today! :)

Christine @ sugarandtrash.com said...

This is cute! I love the orange letters. I seriously need to try zigzagging with my machine. I don't know why I haven't done that yet...

Rose @ Walnut Acre said...

Very cute!

ibshell said...

Super cute! I love the idea of the monogram and yours looks so pretty. Thanks for sharing!! ;)

Heather Landry said...

Absolutely adorable! Especially the flower. You did an amazing job on this project!

Jill said...

Great work on that bag! Looks like a designer item now! :)

Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a great week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

Mindie Hilton said...

Beautiful work on the tote, thanks for sharing at Bacon Time. :)

Honey at 2805 said...

The tote is such a cute one and so creative. You "wayward girls" are all so creative and crafty!

Thank you for linking to Potpourri Friday. I appreciated your participation. Sorry I'm so tardy in commenting, but I've been away for the past four days. Hope to see you again this week!

tousled day said...

I like how this turned out. I could try something like that.(Thank you on your sweet comment at my place.)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...