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HOW TO SEW A SUPER SIMPLE EASY TOTE BAG - Great Beginner Project To Make In Under An Hour
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Jan 10, 2025
This video will show you exactly how to make your very own super easy simple tote bag any size you like. The video has measurements but you can change them to any size you like. How about making cute gift bags or giant shopping bags or perhaps a bag to carry your study books? This is a great project for all sewists but particularly beginners who might not want a complicated pattern to follow. You really can complete it in under an hour. For the bag in the video the you will need to cut out the following pieces of fabric: 2 bag pieces 13" wide by 11.5" tall 2 bag handle pieces 3"wide by 25" long For the large green bag that I showed you a picture of in the video I cut out the following pieces: 2 bag pieces 12.5" wide by 16" tall 2 bag handle pieces 4" wide by 20" long If you like written instructions then take a look at my written tutorial at https://christines-crafts.com/how-to-sew-a-simple-easy-tote-bag-with-pattern/ If you enjoy crafting my blog is full of great ideas and tutorials. Plus if you subscribe you gain access to my free resource library, which includes a home crafts e-book, planners and much more, and get to hear about my latest projects first. Take a look at https://christines-crafts.com/ Enjoy watching and sewing your own simple tote bags. Please leave me a 'thumbs up' if you enjoyed this video and subscribe so that you get to see all my videos as they are posted. You can also find me across social media. To see all my information and ideas find me at https://linktr.ee/Christines_Crafts.
View Video Transcript
0:00
hi in this video i'm going to show you
0:01
how to make a super simple tote bag
0:04
really practical really stylish but
0:06
amazingly easy to make
0:08
it's a great beginner project or even
0:10
for a more experienced sewer
0:12
you can make them as small as you like
0:14
for gift bags as large as you like for
0:15
your folders for studying or perhaps to
0:17
bring the shopping home
0:19
make them for gifts give them whoever
0:21
you like so i'm christine of
0:23
christinescruff.com and this channel is
0:25
all about crafting on a budget so the
0:27
first thing you're going to need are you
0:29
two pieces of fabric to make the bag
0:31
to make one like mine they need to be 13
0:33
inches wide
0:35
and 11 and a half inches tall of course
0:37
you can change these measurements to
0:39
make whatever size bag you like
0:41
but whatever size you make them you're
0:43
going to need the two identical pieces
0:45
to make your bag
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you're also going to need some pieces
0:48
for your handles or straps depending
0:50
what you call them
0:52
you want to cut two pieces of fabric
0:54
that are three inches
0:57
and 25 inches long
1:02
again if you want longer handles just
1:05
cut them bigger than 25 inches long
1:08
but however big you make them you are
1:10
going to need two of them
1:12
so make sure you cut two out
1:15
and that's it that's all you need and
1:18
then we can get started
1:21
making up the bag so get your two pieces
1:24
of fabric
1:25
and place one on top of the other with
1:26
right sides together
1:28
now make sure they're both the right way
1:30
up that you want them
1:32
you don't want any upside down prints
1:34
clowns
1:35
jumping the wrong way or whatever your
1:36
fabric is
1:38
and pin them together around three of
1:41
the sides
1:43
do it about half an inch in because
1:45
that's the sort of seam allowance you
1:47
should be using
1:48
so just pin along one side along the
1:51
bottom one of the longer sides and then
1:54
back up the other side
1:55
so you can see you're forming a bag
1:59
once you're all the way around we're
2:01
going to sew that seam
2:06
making sure we use about half an inch
2:09
seam allowance
2:11
so it's over to the machine pop it in
2:14
run a little bit do a reverse so that
2:16
your seam can't come undone later
2:18
whisk down one side at each of the
2:21
corners
2:22
make sure you lift the foot and do a
2:23
proper 90 degree turn to get a good
2:25
corner
2:27
and then once you get to the end a
2:29
little bit of reversing so that your
2:31
seam can't come undone
2:33
and that's it you've completed the basic
2:35
bag shape
2:37
now i recommend that at those bottom
2:39
corners
2:40
you cut the corner off to reduce the
2:42
bulk now be very careful
2:44
not to cut too close to your stitches so
2:46
that you damage them and you end up with
2:48
a hole in your bag
2:49
you're just getting rid of some of that
2:51
extra fabric that you no longer need
2:54
another tip i would give you is to then
2:57
move on
2:59
to pressing those seam allowances at the
3:01
side
3:02
because you really want them to open up
3:05
if you can get them nice and
3:07
open the bag will feel less bulky at
3:09
those side seams
3:11
to pop over to your ironing board and
3:14
press those side seams you'll see i'm
3:16
using a little tiny ironing board on my
3:18
ironing board which is one for sleeves
3:21
if you haven't got one don't worry just
3:22
put the bag down flat
3:24
you'll see that's how i'm going to do it
3:26
now to do the bottom
3:28
just pop it down flat open the seam up
3:30
and press it
3:32
so now you've got nice open seams so we
3:35
need to form a hem on the top of the bag
3:38
so go to one of the side seams turn over
3:41
approximately half an inch and then turn
3:43
another half inch so that you enclose
3:46
all the raw edge go to the other side
3:49
seam and do it again
3:51
turn over half an inch and then turn
3:53
over another half an inch
3:56
check the right same size if they're not
3:59
adjust
4:00
and then pin that and then you're going
4:04
to work your way
4:05
all the way around doing the same thing
4:07
so you'll notice that i always do
4:09
either side seam and then i do in the
4:12
center and then you can naturally get it
4:15
to fold
4:17
and it makes it much easier to work your
4:19
way around
4:21
do it on the other side again go for the
4:23
middle
4:24
and then go for either edge once you've
4:28
got the whole thing pinned
4:30
you just want to make sure it's right so
4:32
just take a little bit of time
4:34
to check that all the way along the top
4:36
is nice and even the other side of the
4:38
bag is the same length
4:40
so just check that and then once you're
4:43
happy
4:45
you need to sew that in place
4:49
so it'll be back to the machine to sew
4:51
that hem
4:52
down so
4:56
run along the edge of that seam to catch
4:59
it down and make sure it's a nice neat
5:01
edge
5:02
it's going to act as a top stitch on the
5:04
outside of the bag as well as holding
5:06
that hem in place
5:08
it just means your bag will be nice and
5:10
tidy no fraying edges
5:14
you just work your way around carefully
5:17
it should sit
5:18
nicely over your sewing machine
5:21
and when you get back round to where you
5:22
started you're going to go over that
5:24
starting stitching a little way
5:27
so that it captures it in and then do a
5:29
little bit of a reverse
5:31
again this is so that your stitches
5:32
don't come undone
5:35
so now we need to think about the
5:36
handles so take each handling turn
5:39
and fold it in half along its length
5:43
you're going to have to press this to
5:45
hold it in place
5:47
so work your way all the way along
5:51
see i just keep moving it up fold it
5:54
carefully
5:56
press it in place until you get all the
5:58
way to the other end
6:00
so you should now have formed a perfect
6:02
crease all the way along the center
6:05
so open it back up and then along one
6:08
side
6:09
fold the edging to the fold that runs up
6:13
the center
6:14
it's better to be a little bit short of
6:16
the fold than to go
6:18
over the fold because we're going to use
6:20
all these folds in a moment so you don't
6:22
want any bits
6:23
bulking up and folding over again in the
6:25
middle
6:26
so just work your way along nice and
6:29
steady
6:31
getting that edge nice and crisp
6:38
and it will fold nicely so turn it round
6:42
and repeat for the other side you want
6:44
the other edge pressed in
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so that it has a nice neat fold and
6:49
we'll sit in a moment when we fold it
6:51
all back together
6:52
what we're doing here is making sure we
6:54
get a nice neat handle with no raw edges
6:57
and we don't have that awful job of
6:59
trying to pull the handle
7:00
through on itself once you've sewn it
7:03
because we're going to sew this
7:05
on the right side
7:08
once you've got all your folds fold
7:11
those two new folds in
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and fold the handle along the middle
7:16
so you should now have captured all your
7:18
raw edges
7:20
nice and neatly work your way along
7:24
making sure those folds are held in
7:26
place
7:27
and add some pins or some clips
7:30
depending what you prefer to use
7:33
just work your way along you want to
7:36
make sure it's all secure
7:38
and that your edges line up beautifully
7:40
because this is your handle and this is
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how it is going to look
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the only addition is going to be the
7:44
stitches to hold it in place
7:50
once you get all the way to the other
7:51
end and you're happy with it
7:53
you're going to repeat the whole process
7:55
with the other
7:56
handle piece because you obviously need
7:59
two of these
8:00
and then once you've got two completed
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you can look to sew them
8:05
so take one over to the machine and just
8:08
run along the edge of the handle
8:10
i recommend about an eighth of an inch
8:12
from the edge
8:14
turn it round and do the same on the
8:16
other side
8:17
so you're now running along the side
8:19
that has the fold
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rather than the seam
8:23
do the same on the other handle
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run along it so you're fastening it
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closed
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turn it round and run along the side
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that has the
8:33
fold and you'll get some really nice
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professional looking handles
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so now you need to go back to your bag
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turn it the right way out
8:43
make sure you get those corners poked
8:44
out a chopstick works well if you're
8:46
struggling
8:47
and we can attach the handles so this is
8:50
about a bit of careful measurement
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so take one end of one of the handles
8:55
and we're going to measure in
8:57
from the side seam three inches
9:00
again if you're making your bag a
9:01
different size just adapt your
9:03
measurements to what you think suits
9:04
your bag you can do it by eye
9:06
but i measure in three inches
9:09
mark it and measure down four inches
9:13
from the top
9:14
once you've got that point that is three
9:16
inches in from the side and four inches
9:19
down from the top
9:20
that's where the bottom of your straps
9:22
going but you need to fold about half an
9:25
inch
9:26
under on your strap because you don't
9:27
want any raw edges
9:30
place that corner where you've marked it
9:35
and pin it in place
9:40
you then need to make sure your strap is
9:42
exactly vertical up your bag
9:45
and pin it again at the top
9:49
you should have a nice neat strap now
9:52
that same
9:53
strap you're going to loop it round
9:56
and do the same with the other end but
9:58
on the other side
10:00
of that same side of the bag you're just
10:03
going to measure the same measurements
10:04
three inches from the side seam but
10:06
you're doing it from the other side c
10:09
once you've done that you're going to
10:10
check them check them both three inches
10:12
from the edge
10:14
check them both four inches down now
10:16
what we'll see is the one on the right
10:17
hand side is not quite right
10:20
so i will adjust it take your time here
10:23
and get them right because otherwise
10:25
you'll notice it later
10:26
and it will really annoy you so take
10:28
your time
10:29
to get them exactly where you want them
10:31
before you even think about sewing
10:34
also make sure your strap hasn't twisted
10:36
as you've looped from one side to the
10:38
other
10:38
you want a nice smooth strap once you're
10:41
happy
10:42
it's time to turn the bag over and
10:44
repeat this process on the other
10:46
side with the other handle and you can
10:48
see you're now getting to the point
10:50
where you are forming your bag
10:52
and you're nearly finished
10:55
so repeat on this side and then once
10:58
they're done we're going to sew them
11:00
in place make sure your bag is still a
11:02
bag and you haven't pinned your two
11:03
sides together
11:05
and now we're going to sew so you form
11:07
in a rectangle
11:08
on each handle where it overlaps the bag
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you can run along the stitches the top
11:14
stitching that you've already got
11:16
and make a very professional tidy job
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so it's back to the sewing machine
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make sure you don't catch the other half
11:24
of the bag in it's a little bit fiddly
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just take your time
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and you're going to sew down
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from the top of the bag right down the
11:34
top stitching
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to fasten that handle to the bag
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you go right down to the bottom of the
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strap
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and that will involve going over the
11:44
little bit you folded over which is a
11:46
bit thicker
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so just take care make sure your little
11:51
fold doesn't come undone
11:54
and then when you get to the bottom
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you're going to make sure the needle's
11:58
in
11:59
lift the foot turn through 90 degrees
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and cross the bottom of the handle
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and then you're going to make sure the
12:09
needle's in lift the foot
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and turn to come back up the other side
12:15
of the bag handle now you can see you're
12:18
having to
12:19
wiggle all that bag through under the
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machine
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just take your time nobody's timing yeah
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there's no rush
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then when you get to the top needle in
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lift the foot turn 90 degrees and sew
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along the top
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and again make sure you reverse to get a
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good
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strong seam at the end and to make sure
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nothing comes undone
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so you'll now have sewn a nice little
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box that's sewn the handle in place
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all the way repeat for the other three
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and your bag is complete so
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enjoy making your bag and enjoy using
12:55
your bag and i hope you adapt it and
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make lots of different sizes
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and lots of different varieties so if
13:01
you've enjoyed this
13:02
please give me a thumbs up below you can
13:04
subscribe to my channel to see all my
13:06
other videos
13:07
and thank you for watching bye
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