Late last year, I made a couple Compact Grocery Totes out of A Bag for All Reasons by Lisa Lam as Christmas gifts for a couple friends, though I have yet to actually drop them in the mail. I’m only a month late. No biggie.
Both fabrics are from Joann. I’m not sure about the outer fabric, but the interior is a DS print. I’m impressed with the growing selection of high-quality modern quilting fabric at Joann. Both fabrics feel great and are super cute! I love the contrast between the blues and greens and the bright orange.
This roomy tote came together easily, though I wasn’t reading the directions closely enough so I had to modify a few parts (including the straps). I think the pattern would work for a confident beginner.
I like the reinforcement stitching on the straps — I think this bag will do a good job of holding a lot of groceries!
The bag rolls up so that you can throw it in your purse easily. The directions called for it to be fastened with a snap, but I couldn’t locate the right kind of snap, so I went with a reinforced button instead. I also made my first buttonholes ever. There’s also a J-clip on the side for connecting to your purse.
I will get these in the mail this week. I will get these in the mail this week. I will get these in the mail this week.
LOVE THESE! =) I *May* or may not be a bag junkie. Especially re-usable grocery sacks… Amazon *may* or may not be open in a tab in my browser so I can look at the fore mentioned book…
I just remembered — you may still be able to download the pattern for free (I should have put it in my post!): http://www.sccmag.com/bag-for-all-reasons/