The Tote Bag

The "icicles" totebag is finished and hung on the knob of the old chest of drawers to have it's picture taken. (When I enlarged the picture, I could see that the old drawer pull is loose and I need to get a screwdriver and tighten the screw!) It went together pretty well although I would not ever do the lining again as they instructed. It was different than the usual way of making the lining and the bag, taking the darts in the bottoms of each, sewing the tops together with the bag inside the lining and tucking the lining in the bag. Of course, top stitching comes after that. They had you take the whole flat bag and flat lining and sew across the top, then open it out, fold in half and sew the three sides, leaving a space for turning. The darts had to be made before turning. That was the awkward part. After the paperpiecing was done, I stitched in the ditch around each icicle and just the wavy running lines on the bands. Also made a bottom for the inside by covering some rigid cardboard with the lining fabric. I am very happy with it. (Click to enlarge)