About

Cost: $ $ $ $ $

Difficulty: • • • • •

Time: 30 mins

cute and stylish Japanese tote, easy and fast!

Posted by judithchen from Ilmenau, Thuringia, Germany • Published 26th July 2011 • See judithchen's 35 projects »

Tags

Print • Embed

wondertide favorited Cherry Blossom Tote Bag 22 Feb 00:22
judithchen entered her project Cherry Blossom Tote Bag to With Lavender and Lace 20 Jul 19:31
judithchen entered her project Cherry Blossom Tote Bag to Couture Keepsakes 04 May 19:01
RareJewel favorited Cherry Blossom Tote Bag 02 May 07:01
judithchen entered her project Cherry Blossom Tote Bag to Japan Crate 01 May 22:26
artpanda18 favorited Cherry Blossom Tote Bag 22 Apr 04:03
judithchen entered her project Cherry Blossom Tote Bag to Ugly Christmas Sweater 06 Dec 23:14
judithchen entered her project Cherry Blossom Tote Bag to Wander & Hunt 07 Nov 20:30
LynnieAttackedByWeather favorited Cherry Blossom Tote Bag 04 Sep 19:29
Sherry J. favorited Cherry Blossom Tote Bag 31 Aug 21:43

Step 1
cut the fabrics:

white canvas: 75 x 30 cm

pink canvas (make two): 5 x 35 cm

cut 4 pieces of 4x55 cm fabric for the bag handle. I made 2 white and two pink and mismatch them as a variation.

Don't forget to add the seam allowance, about 1"
Step 2
pin and sew a to a, b to b and c to c. now you get your half done tote bag

(for reference see the pic in step 1)
Step 3
draw your twig with a pencil. make sure to make a clear lining so it's easier to trace with the fabric ink pen. I'd recommend you to find a reference picture to make your work easier.
Step 4
Outline your picture with the brown fabric ink pen. then color the inside part carefully. My tips is, be creative. Don't block them all with the same tone. Play with the fabric structure to get different kind of tones to make the twig look more realistic.
Step 5
Now this is the fun part. Cut your different tones of fabrics and create the flowers. You can use this super simple tutorial by Martha Stewart:

http://tinyurl.com/3f75p4a
Step 6
Remember that you'll need to sew the flowers one by one. This is a little tricky. Fold the center of the flower a little so it gives the blooming look. Hand sew the fold and sew to the twig. Add as many flowers as you want. I only made 4 and create one large one from two different pieces so in the end I got 3 flowers in different sizes.

place the flowers carefully to the twig, then glue or handsew. I'd recommend handswe, though.

Tips: to get an even more realistic flower, you can add 3 bullion stitches of each in the center of the flower.
Step 7
Pin and sew the bag handle and you're done! :)

tips: I'd suggest a double stitch and X - shape stitch to make the strap and bag attached better.

PS. sorry for the lousy pics.