Summery Tote Bags
It's June! A half of this year is already gone…I can’t believe it! I still have a couple of things which I made last year that I haven’t shared here yet.
But today I’ll be sharing some things I made recently because they’re seasonal things!
Summer is a time for cute basket bags, right? But I’m always afraid of the basket material catching the fabric of my clothes and wrecking them. Other materials like paper yarn or raffia just don’t seem so durable (maybe I’m totally wrong, maybe they’re a lot more durable and waterproof than they look. Does anyone know?)
And then…I found a faux basket print fabric! That was just what I needed.
I used the same self-drafted pattern as this one for this bag.
Doesn’t it look pretty realistic?! I’m so pleased with the faux basket look and it’s much easier to take care of compared to the actual baskets!
Some of my favourite and necessary features are
Zipper closure (I rarely use handbags without the zipper closure)
Bottom reinforcement foam (It helps make the bag more stable and keeping its shape)
Pockets! (One is regular open pocket, the other one is zipper pocket)
Additional shoulder handle (See the photo below)
Ok, I’m pretty happy with the decision of adding the shoulder handle!
With a smaller tote bag like this, I normally hold it with short handles and carry it as a handbag. But you know there’re those moments when you need your hands free?
This shoulder handle (the longer one) is really great for those moments! It’s not as annoying as having a cross-body length straps (crossbody bags are convenient but I don’t usually wear this type of tote bags cross bodied.)
I got the inspiration from my sister’s bag that she was carrying when we went out together while I was visiting her in Japan. It looked pretty practical and it is!
The inner fabric is the same one that I used for this backpack.
I love this fabric so much, I wish I could get more of this.
This is what it looks like with the bottom reinforcement foam in.
I like it with summery charms too!
Since this shape and the size are something I find really convenient, this bag is now my go-to everyday summer bag!
I’ve made another summer tote bag this year because… well I found this sweet watermelon fabric in Japan and I had to make something with it!
This print is so cute and unique. I love everything watermelon!
The pattern and the construction are the same as the basket bag.
This bag isn’t versatile as the basket bag or the grey bag because of the big print but I love it! This cute print just makes me really happy.
In case you were wondering how big they are, these photos might give you an idea of their size. They’re not very small but not big either, I’d say they’re within a typical handbag size range.
This is how the shoulder handle looks like on my dress form! The watermelon one has a loud print and I wanted to be as simple as it can be, so I omitted the shoulder handle.
June 14, 2019
