19/08/2026
👜 Tote bag — finished size
A good useful size would be approximately 40 cm wide Ă— 35 cm high Ă— 10 cm deep.
What you’ll need
Outer shell fabric
* 1 piece 52 Ă— 42 cm for the front
* 1 piece 52 Ă— 42 cm for the back
* Or cut from one continuous piece if your fabric allows.
Striped lining
* 2 pieces 52 Ă— 42 cm
Handles
* 2 pieces of shell fabric 70 Ă— 10 cm
* Or use ready-made cotton/webbing handles.
Optional
* Medium-weight fusible interfacing — I’d recommend this if your shell fabric is a lighter cotton.
* Magnetic snap if you’d like the bag to close.
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✂️ How to make it
1. Prepare the outer bag
Put the two shell pieces right sides together.
Sew:
* down both sides
* across the bottom
Use approximately a 1.5 cm seam allowance.
Don’t sew the top.
2. Make the boxed bottom
This is what gives the bag the lovely flat base seen in the picture.
At each bottom corner:
1. Open the corner so the side seam sits directly on top of the bottom seam.
2. Measure 5 cm across from the point.
3. Draw a line across the corner.
4. Sew across that line.
5. Trim away the excess triangle.
Repeat on the other corner.
You’ll now have a 10 cm deep base.
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3. Make the lining
Make the striped lining exactly the same way.
Important: Leave an opening of about 15–20 cm in the bottom seam of the lining.
You’ll need this opening to turn the finished bag right side out.
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4. Make the handles
For fabric handles:
Fold each 10 cm-wide strip in half lengthways and press.
Open it, then fold both long edges into the centre and press again.
Fold in half and stitch along both long edges.
You’ll end up with handles approximately 2.5 cm wide.
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5. Attach the handles
On the right side of the outer bag, position each handle approximately:
10 cm in from the side seam.
Bring the handles upwards and pin them in place.
I’d sew a square with a cross through it at each attachment point. This makes them much stronger.
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6. Join the lining to the bag
Turn the outer bag right side out.
Leave the lining inside out.
Put the outer bag inside the lining so that:
right side of lining → right side of outer fabric
The handles should be sandwiched between the two layers.
Pin all the way around the top.
Sew around the entire top edge.
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7. Turn it through
Pull the whole bag through the opening you left in the lining.
Push the corners out neatly.
Press the top edge.
Then stitch the opening in the lining closed.
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8. Finish the top
For the look in the picture, I’d add a line of stitching around the top approximately 5 mm from the edge.
You could also sew another line about 2–3 cm down from the top for a more professional finish.
🌊 One thing I’d change for your fabric
Because your shell fabric has such a beautiful large-scale shell/coral design, I would not quilt or add lots of pockets to the outside. Let the fabric be the feature.
The green stripe lining is perfect because it picks up the greens in the shell print without competing with it.
