About
Easy, awesome tote made from a thrift store dress, and an old shirt!
I love this tote, not only is it super cute, but it is really soft since it is made out of clothing!
I picked up this funky dress from a thrift store because I just love the fabric. I thought it would be awesome to make a tote bag out of it since the colors are awesome and the dress was cheap. Fabric from a fabric store can be quite pricey so I definitely recommend going to a couple thrift stores and finding some awesome dresses (or skirts) like this one and turn them into cool things. Also at certain thrift stores they have days where most clothing is 99 cents, find out those days and then shop till you drop!
This tutorial can be used for any kind of fabric since I have all of the measurements. Feel free to use any fabric it doesn't have to be an old dress.
If you want to use a dress, or are picking out dresses or skirts to use as fabric, be wary of the seams on the dress. Many dresses have a seam on each side then one running down the back. If this is the case you will want to make sure that you have enough fabric from the front of the dress to make the two pieces of the outer tote. Also feel free to tweak the instructions to fit your particular dress (like making it smaller or larger to fit your needs).
For all the measurements I gave them about 1/2 inch seam allowance.
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Step 18
I cut two of each so that the inside of the pocket would have the right side of the fabric facing facing out. It also gives the pockets more strength. Put the two wrong sides together for each pair. I folded down the top twice to make a nice edge. Ironing them down will make it a lot easier.
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Step 20
Then take 1 of the purple fabric pieces and place the pockets on the fabric making sure that they line up correctly and that they are placed where you want them in proportion to the bag. I put the purple inside of the bag and measured the pockets from bottom. My pockets were 6 1/2 inches from the bottom.
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Step 23
Now strap time! I used the boarder from my dress, if you don't have that cut four pieces of any fabric (or you could use your main fabric, in my case the flowery green fabric) 28 X 2 1/2 inches. With two of those four, add interfacing (if needed) to the wrong side. Then, place together two with right sides facing, one with interfacing the other without, pin, and sew on both sides leaving the two ends open. Do that for the other strap as well. Turn both straps right side out.
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Step 25
I hope you can see in the photo that the strap was only sewn on the inside, missing the other seam from where them green and purple fabric meet. Sew it back and forth a few times to make the strap strong. Do this for all four strap ends. Make sure to line them up correctly from one side of your tote to the other.
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Step 26
I didn't take many pictures of the end so I will do my best explaining. Take the purple piece with pockets and place it inside the bag. Fold the outside fabric down once pinning it making sure it is even all the way around the bag. Now fold down the purple once and pin it to the outer fabric. This makes a really nice top edge. Make sure that the straps are also pinned in place so that they will come out straight when you sew around the top. Once everything is settled now sew around the edges. Start at one side of the tote where the seam is. Going slowly sew across one side of the bag, checking to make sure you sewed it straight. Do the same for the other side. This is definitely the hardest part but just take your time in pinning and sewing and it will pay off.