A Saint Powered Life

Been a busy week, even with the Fourth of July off! I created and finished the fisher price primary color themed lined toy tote. Look for pattern at the end of this post. I cut and laid out the coloring / drawing portfolios for granddaughter and daughter. The portfolios are using the same fisher price primary color theme. The portfolios on the left hand side will have elastic for holding individual crayons, pencils, markers, or pens. I will sew strips of elastic at 1-inch intervals. The right side will have a piece of elastic to hold drawing paper or pads. I also have some clear plastic sheet that I might use on the back or in place of the paper holder. I will make it into a clear pocket for holding sharpeners, rulers, erasers, and what not. I will finish them off with a Velcro or snap closure. I am going to put a couple of scruffy yoyo flowers on the front – in primary colors. Should look cute! The fabric for both projects is a heavy canvas / duck cloth that I‘ve had in my stash for a long time. Actually, everything came from my stash - Elastic, clear plastic sheet, interfacing, thread… Wow!

Fisher Price Themed Toy Tote
July 2,2012 By Saint Powered Life Contact me at SaintPoweredLife@gmail.com

I made this tote over the weekend. I used red for the body of the tote, blue for the handles and green for the binding. I planned to embroider my granddaughter’s name on yellow, but my machine was on strike.
2 Yards heavy canvas or duck cloth, smaller amounts for handles and if you want pockets, (contrasting colors)
2 yards of appropriate material for liner
Fusible interface or stabilizer (heavy weight – 2 yards)
Coordinating thread
1 inch quilt binding – coordinating or contrasting color - 1 pack (3 yards)

Directions: Determine the dimensions of the tote. Mine was about 40”by 15”. The bottom was square so all sides were the same measurements. You can make the tote larger, smaller, and/or rectangular. My bottom piece was 15 by 15, yours will be whatever width you choose, or the two widths if you are rectangular. The handles I made were of contrasting color and measured about 4” by 10”. Mark the fabric with the dimensions, making sure to add seam allowances. Mark contrasting fabric for handles. Cut. Mark fusible stabilizer with the same measurements a as fabric. Cut Mark lining fabric the same way. Do not use stabilizer on the lining. Cut. Iron the stabilizer to the main fabric pieces. Sew lining side’s together right sides facing each other. Press seams open. Sew lining sides to  bottom lining piece. Press seams open. Sew main fabric right sides together. Press seams open. Sew sides to bottom. Press seams open. Hem handle ends at about an inch. Trim close to the stitching. Sew handles, right sides together. Iron seams open and trim to stitching to remove bulk. Turn handles right side out. Iron flat. I added extra stitching down each side to ensure strength after I turned the handles. . At this point, you have the basic tote, two handles, and the liner. You can add pockets wherever you choose. Add them before working the lining in. Also. Attach the handles before the lining. so they do not show. I attached the handles to the exterior of the tote so one side had one handle attached and the opposite side had a handle. Make sure that you sew the handles about 1.5 inches from the top of the tote – reserve this space for the binding. Now you have the handles and possibly pockets attached. Feel free to add other embellishments or embroidery. Make sure lining is wrong side out. Drop lining into tote. It should fit nicely inside. Pin lining and binding to the tote making a sandwich. (One side of binding, tote, lining,  binding). Sew about a quarter inch from the outer edge of the binding making sure that you catch all of the layers. After you have attached the binding – you are done! Use it for toys, laundry, or any other idea you might have.

Here are pictures of my toy tote and lining. Please let me know how your's turns out and what type of modifications you made.