Maker's Tote ~ A Finish

Maker's Tote, pattern by Noodlehead : Fresh Lemons Quilts

My first Maker's Tote (pattern purchased from Noodlehead) is officially finished. I think my daughter is going to love it! Anna's pattern comes with directions in two sizes, a small and a large. This is the small, but as you can see, it still fits a lot of stuff! I loaded it with things my daughter likes to take on trips - headphones, markers, a book, a sketchpad, a stuffed animal...no problem fitting it all and zipping it up. I also can just squeeze in an 8-1/2" x 10" coloring book. On my son's tote, I'm raising the zipper 1/4" to make it a bit easier to fit.

This was a fun pattern to make. I can always count on Anna to challenge me, in a good way. With this bag, I successfully completed two new-to-me zipper installations.

The first was this zipper in the middle of the outer panel. I was so nervous to cut into my fabric, as I had just spent a really long time getting it ready with all the quilting. But it worked!

The second was the top zipper, installed with zipper tape. It was much easier than I anticipated! One of the reasons I decided to do quilt-as-you-go on the outer fabric was I wanted to camouflage the two horizontal zipper tape stitching lines that appear on the outside of the tote. I think it worked - you can hardly notice them.

I left off the outer snap pocket on my Maker's Totes. My kids seem genuinely confused by why they would need snap pockets on their Cargo Duffles. So I decided not to bother this time, even though I think they are adorable.

I mentioned a few details in my progress post earlier this week, but in case you missed that, here is a summary of the fabrics and minor changes I made to the pattern.

Fabrics Outer : Carrie Bloomston - Paint fabric line - Brushes in Inky Lining : Carrie Bloomston - Story fabric line - Stars in Hot Pink Pockets : Carrie Bloomston - Paint fabric line - Palette in Spackle Trim : Carrie Bloomston - Paint fabric line - Patina in Aqua

Modifications 1. Quilt as You Go for the outer panels. I quilted directly onto the interfacing specified in the pattern. 2. Added stitched lines 5/8" apart on the inner flat pocket to create a marker holder. 3. Left off the outer snap pocket. 4. Finished the handles by stitching straight lines 1/4" apart and leaving them flat.

This first tote probably took me about 8 hours total for cutting, quilting and assembling. This was my first time reading the pattern, so that always takes time. The quilt-as-you-go step that I added was a significant chunk of time, as was the stitched lines for the marker holder. The binding took an hour or so to stitch on as well.

I've made a second tote already for my son (will share next week), and it probably took 5 hours total So I'm getting faster! I definitely recommend the Maker's Tote pattern if you have a few bags under your belt and are looking for a great handmade gift - for a friend or yourself!