Last week, I shared my hand embroidery work in progress of the Dangerous with Scissors design and thought it would fun to create a quick canvas tote bag with it on the pocket. Â This way my projects have a home away from home when traveling.
Canvas Tote Bag
This project is for all levels.
Skill Level- 1 Button
The truth is, I would love to finish everything in an afternoon but that is not always the case and need to put them away. Plus, from time to time, I need to lug supplies to my local sewing meetings and this tote bag is perfect.
Materials:
- Canvas drop cloth (found at your local hardware store)
- *Optional- contrast fabric scrap for pocket
*I purchased a  6 ft x 9 ft 8 oz canvas drop cloth for $5.89 at my local hardware store.
- Sewing machine (serger or standard)
- Scissors
- Straight pins
- Iron/board
Basic Instructions:
- Cut out body, straps, and pocket from the canvas. The sizes are above.Â
- To keep things simple for the pocket, I used the hemmed edge of the canvas drop cloth as my top pocket edge. Â If you are using fabric, you will need to add an additional seam allowance before cutting. Fold under and press 1/2″ seam allowance on 3 sides of the pocket. Position, pin, and straight stitch in place on the bag.
- Hold and press 1/4″ along the long edge of the right side and 3/4″ on left to create straps. Then fold the right side over  1/2″ lapping the left and finish with a 1 1/2″ strap width. Straight stitch seam in place along the edge.
- Fold bag right sides together and stitch together. Â I used my serger to make the job super fast but you can use a straight stitch with a 3/8″ seam allowance.
- Fold over and miter your corners like we did on this zipper bag. Â I used 1 3/4″ marking from the point. The canvas is perfect for finger pressing and there is no need to jump up for the iron.
- Fold over the top edge 1/4″ and again 1″; pin in place. This is your top hem. Â Next mark the center of your bag and position straps 2.5″ away on each side. Slide them under the hem line. Â This is for extra strength.
- Flip up and stitch around the top edge. Turn right side out and your canvas tote bag is ready to be filled!
**Since I know that many of you like to print out a hard copy of the article to use as a reference while sewing, I have created an optional PDF that’s optimized for printing and ad-free. Find more here. The blog post and video are totally free to read, print, and sew! The PDF tutorial & download for $2 is totally optional.
I can think of so many great ways to use this canvas tote bag and I know that I’ll be cutting up the rest of my drop cloth in a flash!
If you are looking for a lined tote bag check this one out. There are so many great tutorials on-line but I just love the color blocking on this one!
ps- the embroidery patch embroidery design is yours for the grabbing!  And if hand embroidery isn’t your thing- no worries, I’ve gotcha covered.  The design is formatted for machine embroidery too!
Looking for more free tote bag patterns? Check out this list with over 100 free patterns.
Comments & Reviews
Did you not feel the need to prewash? I always worry about shrinking/distorting the shape.