{"id":970,"date":"2019-01-09T11:47:46","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T11:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gursewingmachines.com\/blog\/?p=970"},"modified":"2020-02-26T12:21:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T12:21:00","slug":"tote-bag-sewing-tutorial-extravaganza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gursewingmachines.com\/blog\/tote-bag-sewing-tutorial-extravaganza\/","title":{"rendered":"Tote bag sewing tutorial extravaganza!"},"content":{"rendered":"

h2>Five of our very favourite tote bag how-tos<\/h2>\n

Hello to lovely sewists wherever you are! Now that Christmas has become a thing of the past (at least for a few months) you may be ready to get the old sewing machine up and running again.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At GUR, we’ve been scratching our heads wondering about the best kind of project to kick the new year off with. And we’ve come up with our old favourite, the tote bag! There are so many variations to these, some really simple, some contains exquisite levels of detail: in short there’s a tote bag out there for everyone!<\/p>\n

We’ve scoured the world (more like rummaging around on our computers actually – but you know what we mean lol) for some of the finest examples available in internet land – and we think we’ve found five real winners.<\/p>\n

It’s time to get creative!<\/em>
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Easy charm square tote bag tutorial<\/h3>\n

We’re off to Australia first for this easy and well presented tutorial. We just love\u00a0Wanda and Paula from\u00a0Alanda Craft as they talk us through the project in an endearing video which can be found on the TotalHandbag.com<\/a> website.<\/p>\n

Why it’s so good:<\/strong> \u201cThis patchwork bag is super cute and easy to make especially if you are new to sewing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Zippered tote bag tutorial<\/h3>\n

A big thank you to the wonderful\u00a0Jill from Snugglebug University<\/a> who has produced this really stylish example on the Make it and Love it website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jill survives, as she says, parenthood one bag at a time!\u00a0Having a whole heap of bags is the only way she’s able to organise her children’s stuff for all their different activities. The key with this one (apart from the fact that it looks really cool) is that it has a zip.<\/p>\n

Why the zip?<\/strong>\u00a0“I made sure to include a zipper so that all my daughter\u2019s stuff doesn\u2019t fall out when she turns the bag upside down (which always seems to happen somehow)!!”<\/em><\/p>\n

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Canvas eco-friendly shopping bag tutorial<\/h3>\n

This is great! Simple, clean and convenient for everyday shopping – helping keep those evil plastic bags at bay – creating and decorating projects. And, it’s washable!<\/p>\n

Courtesy of the Handmadiya website<\/a>, is presented a bit like an Ikea assembly instruction sheet: mainly images with the odd minimalist caption showing sizes and the direction of sewing. Simple and effective – just like the bag!<\/p>\n

What’s really good about this:<\/strong> It couldn’t be simpler!<\/i><\/p>\n

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Patchwork tote bag tutorial<\/h3>\n

This bag is gorgeous! From a new discovery for us, the delightful\u00a0Amanda, aka Jedi Craft Girl<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She started off with a bundle of exquisite\u00a0fat quarters, adds a few cuts of yardage and the finished project is amazing!<\/p>\n

The tutorial can be found on Amanda’s\u00a0Jedi Craft Girl website<\/a>. It’s a little more challenging, contains a great deal of beautiful detailing and will take a little longer than some of our other tutorials.<\/p>\n

But just look at the finished results!<\/p>\n

Look out for:<\/strong> “The quilting will shrink the up the quilt a little bit”.<\/em><\/p>\n

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La Conner tote bag tutorial<\/h3>\n

We’re off to the rainy city of Seattle for our final entry in our tote bag extravaganza – specifically to the blog of the incredible\u00a0Jera Brandvig, a\u00a0quilter, author and fabric designer.<\/p>\n

This how-to, on the Quilting in the Rain website<\/a> is one of the finest we’ve ever referred to, both in terms of the finished products (they are breathtakingly beautiful) and the number of variations, but also the quality of the way the information is presented – in both step-by-step photo and video formats.<\/p>\n

As easy or as ambitious as you want to make it:<\/strong> “If you want to make a quicker version of this bag, just ditch the patchwork and use a full panel of fabric instead as shown below. Here I went out of my comfort zone and did some free-motion stippling.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Enjoy!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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…and just in case you’re yearning for a sewing upgrade…<\/span><\/h2>\n

We’re not suggesting that you should be unfaithful to your old tried and trusted machine: but don’t you just sometimes yearn for something a little more… exciting?<\/p>\n

Choose from GUR\u2019s amazing selection of sewing machines and get free UK delivery! They have been supplying sewing machines for over 60 years.<\/p>\n

Top quality manufacturers include:-<\/p>\n