Sew Easy Big Tote Bag

By Caroline Fairbanks-Critchfield of
SewCanShe.com

The magic ingredient that gives this

bag it’s beautiful shape is flexible
foam stabilizer (I love ByAnnie Soft
and Stable). It makes my quilted bags
look like Vera Bradley designer totes.
If you are really short on time or you
would just rather not do the quilting -
no problem. It’s totally optional.

You will need:

• 1 yard of fabric for the bag
• 1/2 yard of fabric for the straps
•1/2 yard of foam stabilizer (at least
40’’ wide - ByAnnie Soft and Stable is
60’’ wide)
•1/2 to 1 yard of fusible interfacing
for the straps*

* Interfacing tip: for these straps, I like the effect of Pellon 809 Decor-Bond because it gives
a crisp, firm feel. It requires patience to ensure that it is completely fused to the strap
before folding and sewing it. If you prefer, Pellon SF101 woven fusible interfacing is a little
bit simpler to work with - I find it fuses faster and folds easier.

Cutting
1. From the bag fabric, cut a rectangle 33’’ tall
and 42’’ wide.

2. From the fusible foam stabilizer, cut a

rectangle 16’’ x 40’’. I find it’s easier to cut
large foam pieces like this by marking them
with a pen and ruler first before cutting.

Find the tutorial on my blog at https://www.sewcanshe.com/blog/sew-easy-big-tote-bag-free-sewing-

tutorial 1
If you are using light fabric, be sure to cut inside any dark lines so they won’t show
through.

3. From the strap fabric, cut:

• 2 strips 6’’ x 40’’
• 4 strips 6’’ x 10’’

The straps are cut out and sewn specifically so that the seams in the straps are
sewn to the bag - not directly subjected to the weight of the bag and it’s contents.

4. From the fusible interfacing, cut enough 6’’ strips to cover the two 6’’ x 59’’ straps
with slight overlap.

Attach the Foam Stabilizer

1. Place the foam stabilizer piece against the
wrong side of the bag fabric rectangle with
the 40’’ long edge of the foam centered on
one of the 42’’ long edges of the fabric and
1/2’’ away from the raw edge.

Pin in place.

2. Baste the foam stabilizer to the fabric, 1/8’’

away from the edge of the foam.

3. Fold the fabric over the stabilizer, smoothing

it flat on both sides. At the top there is a fold
and at the bottom, two fabric raw edges with
stabilizer in between.

Find the tutorial on my blog at https://www.sewcanshe.com/blog/sew-easy-big-tote-bag-free-sewing-

tutorial 2
Turn the piece over so you can see the basting
stitches from Step 2. Pin the raw edges
together along the bottom edge.
It is not very important that the raw edges at
the bottom line up. It is more important that
the fabric on both sides of the piece is nice and
smooth.

4. Baste again, right on top of the previous line

of basting stitches. This time you are catching
both layers of fabric.

Topstitching and Optional

Quilting
The topstitching on this bag is necessary, but the
quilting is optional.

1. Choose one side of the main bag piece to be

the exterior. The other side will be the inside.
Topstitch along the top (folded) edge of the
bag, 1/2’’ away from the fold.

2. If you wish to quilt your bag - now is your

chance! Keep all quilting below the topstitching
line across the top.
I used the even feed foot (walking foot) along
with a guide and sometimes a ruler to sew
diagonal lines in two directions.
Note that my diagonal lines never crossed over
the topstitching - I always turned and stitched
in a different direction (that’s why I needed
both my guide and my ruler).

Find the tutorial on my blog at https://www.sewcanshe.com/blog/sew-easy-big-tote-bag-free-sewing-

tutorial 3
If the raw edges of the fabric become uneven
during the quilting, don’t worry - I planned a bit
of extra fabric on the sides that you will trim
away.

Feel free to sew wavy lines, straight lines in a

different direction, or free motion quilt your
bag. Or no quilting at all. It’s up to you.

3. Now we need to trim that extra fabric away

from the sides, but you need to leave of fabric
1/2’’ past the foam stabilizer on the inside.
To do this, push your ruler up against the side
of the piece until the edge is lined up with the
foam. Move them until the 1’’ line on your ruler
is lined up with one of the lines on your mat.
Then pull just the the ruler back 1/2’’ so that
the edge of the ruler is 1/2’’ away from the
foam.

Trim away the extra fabric.

Repeat on the other side.

4. Measure the width of the piece and use a

fabric pen to draw a vertical line down the
center. I like to use a Frixion pen because the
ink disappears with the heat from my iron.

Note: my piece shrunk a bit during quilting. It is

now only 40’’ wide and the foam on the inside
is only 39’’ wide.

Find the tutorial on my blog at https://www.sewcanshe.com/blog/sew-easy-big-tote-bag-free-sewing-

tutorial 4
5. Topstitch along the vertical line, starting
at the bottom raw edge and stopping at the
line of topstitching along the folded edge.
You can either backstitch neatly at the top,
or pivot 180 degrees and sew back down to
the bottom edge (that’s what I did).

Note: This vertical line of topstitching will

act as one side ‘seam’ on the finished bag. Imagine that each section on either side
of this topstitching will become one side of the bag.

Make the Straps

1. For each strap, sew a 6’’ x 10’’ piece to both
ends of a 6’’ x 40’’ strip to make two 6’’ x 59’’
strips (using a 1/4’’ seam allowance). Press
the seams open.

2. Apply 6’’ wide fusible interfacing strips to

the back of both strap pieces. Leave 1/2’’
without interfacing at both short ends and if
you don’t have 6’’ x 58’’ pieces of interfacing,
let the interfacing strips overlap by 1/4’’ to
ensure smooth coverage.

3. Fold each strap in half lengthwise and

press. Open and fold the long edges to the
center and press. Fold in half again, press,
and secure the folded edges together with
Wonderclips.

Find the tutorial on my blog at https://www.sewcanshe.com/blog/sew-easy-big-tote-bag-free-sewing-

tutorial 5
4. Topstitch along both long edges of each
strap, 1/8’’ from the edge.

5. Now we’ll use a fabric pen to draw 2

vertical lines on each side of the bag to help
with strap placement.

Draw 2 vertical lines that are 7’’ away from the raw outer edges. Then measuring
from the center line, draw 2 vertical lines that are 6 1/2’’ from the center.

6. Pin each strap to the sides of the bag as

seen at right.

Notice that the straps are not centered on

the lines, but the inside edge of each strap is
lined up against the lines.

The raw edges of each strap should line up

with the bottom raw edges of the bag.

Find the tutorial on my blog at https://www.sewcanshe.com/blog/sew-easy-big-tote-bag-free-sewing-

tutorial 6
7. Attach the two long ends of each strap to
the bag by sewing on top of the previous
topstitching on the straps. Sew from the
bottom raw edges up to within 1/2’’ of the
top. Topstitch across the strap even with the
topstitching on the bag. Then pivot and sew
down the other edge of the strap back to the
bottom edge.

Repeat this step a total of 4 times to secure

both straps.

Sew the Seams

1. Fold the bag in half, wrong sides together,
lining up the short edges. The straps will be
on the outside. Pin the side seam.
It is important that the top edges line up
nicely. Don’t worry too much about the
bottom raw edges right now.

2. Sew the side seam with a 3/8’’ seam

allowance.

Find the tutorial on my blog at https://www.sewcanshe.com/blog/sew-easy-big-tote-bag-free-sewing-

tutorial 7
3. Trim the seam allowance to just 1/8’’.

4. Turn the bag inside out. Sew across the

side seam again with a 1/4’’ seam
allowance.

You’ve just sewn a French seam! There are

no raw edges showing and you didn’t have
to make any binding. :)

5. Sew another French seam along the

bottom of the bag by pinning the raw edges
together (with the bag right side out).

This time sew 1/8’’ to the right of the basting

stitches on the bottom of the bag.

Find the tutorial on my blog at https://www.sewcanshe.com/blog/sew-easy-big-tote-bag-free-sewing-

tutorial 8
6. Trim the seam allowance to 1/8’’ and turn
the bag inside out.

Stitch along the bottom edge with a 1/4’’

seam allowance.

Box the Corners

1. Flatten each corner of the bag by making
the bottom seam line up with the side seam
(on one side the ‘side seam’ is only
topstitching).

2. Use a fabric pen to draw a 4’’ long line

across the corner. Pin the corner flat.

3. Sew across the line, backstitching

securely.

All done! I’d love to see your bag. Post a

picture to Instagram and tag me
@sewcanshe so I can see!

Find the tutorial on my blog at https://www.sewcanshe.com/blog/sew-easy-big-tote-bag-free-sewing-

tutorial 9