What’s the Project? This easy tote bag pattern is super simple to sew and turns out so cute. A roomy pocket on the outside, two straps, and a big tote bag opening makes this a simple bag to carry all your things in. You’re going to love it!
Everyone needs a great tote bag to carry, don’t they?
A year or two ago I made a fun and easy tote bag pattern because my friend needed a bag for carrying her church stuff. I made her the bag, took pictures of the process, and put the pattern on this site.
And it’s ended up being one of the most popular posts on Crazy Little Projects! So when her sister asked for a church bag too, I decided I could make her one and blog it too. Because this one has a little twist. It’s very similar to the original, but it’s got an outer pocket. Super handy!
So, here you go-the Easy Tote Bag Pattern-enhanced with a pocket.
Cute right? And you can make it in any fabric so it could be good for anyone!
And when I say easy, I do mean easy. (Although I did make my fair share of mistakes and have to use the seam ripper more than I should have.)
Let’s make this easy tote bag pattern.
Easy Tote Bag Pattern:
Supplies Needed:
- 3 coordinating fabrics-you’ll need 1/2 yard for the inside fabric, 1/2 yard of your pocket fabric and 2/3 yard of your main fabric. I used canvas to give it a little bulk.
- 1/4 yard of fusible fleece
Tote Bag Sewing Instructions:
Cut the following:
- Main Fabric (blue striped on my bag)-cut 2 pieces that are 17 inches wide by 19 inches long and 2 strap pieces that are 31 inches by 4 inches
- Inner Fabric-cut 2 pieces that are 17 inches wide by 19 inches long
- Pocket Fabric-(flowered fabric on my bag)-cut 1 piece that is 16 inches wide by 22 inches long
- Fusible Fleece-Cut 2 pieces that match your strap pieces
Let’s start out with the straps. Iron your fusible fleece to the back of your strap pieces.
Then, fold them in half lengthwise and sew up the long side leaving the two ends open. Turn the right side out (this can be a little tricky-be patient) and iron them flat so that the seam is in the center of the back.
Now, take your inner fabric and place with with right sides together and sew around two sides and the bottom.
Fold your pocket fabric in half so that it is 17 inches wide by 11 inches long. Place the outer fabrics together with right sides together. The pocket needs to go between these two fabrics. Sew down the side, across the bottom and back up the other side.
Now you are going to give each of your bag pieces box corners. To do this, hold your corners like this and sew across the tip about 1.5 inches down from the top corner.
Then snip it off:
Do this to all four corners. But you’ll need to be careful with the pocket and make sure it stays on one side of the bag and doesn’t get caught in the box corners in a weird way. I had to do a little seam popping to get it where I wanted.
Now, turn your inner bag right side out and leave your outer bag inside out. Slide them together. Slip your straps down between the two layers and pin it in place. Make sure that it isn’t twisted inside and make sure that the side with the seam is facing the inner part of the bag.
Starting between two of the straps, sew all the way around the top leaving 3-4 inches between the straps to turn the bag right side out.
Turn it right side out and press it flat.
The corners should look like this:
And you’re all set! Pack it up and head out!
So cute right? Love this easy tote bag pattern!
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Laura says
May 18, 2017 at 10:06 amDo you use quilting fabric or canvas for this tote?
Amber says
May 21, 2017 at 8:49 pmI used canvas. Should have mentioned that! Whoops.
Mary says
June 8, 2017 at 3:55 pmwhere do you find such cute Canvas. Love your tutorial. Very helpful
Amber says
June 16, 2017 at 9:55 pmThis is from Hobby Lobby.
Carmel Bergin says
January 18, 2018 at 1:13 pmHi Amber, that a lovely tutorial. I love tote bags and make them. I have adapted two things on the handles. One is about 3 inches long strip of padding on the shoulder part of the strap. The second one is I make one handle approximately 1 inch shorter than the other so that when I’m carrying the bag in my hand the sorter strap fits neatly below the longer one and of course its padded and easy on the hand.
Paulina says
September 15, 2018 at 9:18 amYou did!
Linda says
May 18, 2017 at 10:25 amI haven’t made this yet but plan to. Look nice and easy..p
Sara says
May 18, 2017 at 12:57 pmI love your fabrics! I enjoy making bags and you’ve just inspired me to make another one :) I think I might cut my straps 6 inches wide then fold the edges to the middle then fold in half and sticth to get a 1.5″ wide strap. (I don’t like having to flip it otherwise.)
One question about the sizes to cut the fabrics, is there a typo on the lining size? I would think we would need to cut it 17″ by 20″ just like the outer fabric?
Amber says
May 21, 2017 at 8:48 pmYes, should be the same as the outer
Rachael says
June 5, 2018 at 3:28 pmIs there also a typo on the pocket dimensions? Just wondering where I’m supposed to get an extra inch at. It says to cut it 16″ wide by 22″ long and says to fold in half to make it 17″x22″ that’s impossible
Amber says
June 11, 2018 at 12:41 pmWhoops-yes, probably just a typo. :)
Judy S. says
June 8, 2017 at 8:41 amWhat a pretty bag!! I think the outside pocket is a versatile addition. And the fabric combination is very appealing. From what fabric line is the dandelion print? I would love to make some bags using all the coordinating colors.
Amber says
June 16, 2017 at 9:55 pmThe fabric is from Hobby Lobby.
Patricia says
June 9, 2017 at 1:24 amI’ve been wanting a tote like this for some time! Thank you for this tutorial! Pinning to my “Next” board!
Christine L Goodness says
June 14, 2017 at 8:02 pmit took 3 days and some odd hours to turn the handles. I will definitely do that differently next time. Also the instructions on making a box corner with a pocket…is this even do-able? I am winding up with an ugly mess! I may do this step differently also. Cute bag though!
Christine L Goodness says
June 24, 2017 at 6:22 pmsilly me, i was turning it the wrong way! It worked perfectly!
Amber says
June 24, 2017 at 7:45 pmOh good!
Elizabeth Clark says
July 29, 2017 at 12:46 amI love your bag so much!!
I’m a beginner at sewing and you made this seem so easy for me! Thank you so much for making your easy tutorial. I’m going to give it a try.
By the way, where did you get your fabric?
Amber says
August 7, 2017 at 11:39 amThat’s from Hobby Lobby. :)
Karen P says
August 10, 2017 at 9:04 amThank you for the tutorial. I have a question. Once you have turned the bag right side out do you need to do a hand stitch where you just turned to make sure all the inner is no longer on show? Many thanks in advance Karen
Amber says
August 17, 2017 at 9:45 pmYou don’t have to but it’s not a bad idea at all!
Sandy says
September 18, 2017 at 3:43 pmI’ve made several of these and love the pattern. I add a pocket to the inside, but like this idea on the outside as well!
Sheila says
November 8, 2017 at 5:18 pmI just bought a machine. Haven’t sewn in 40 years. I found this while looking for beginner projects. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us.
Shae says
November 18, 2017 at 10:43 amI’m confused about leaving 3-4 inches at the end. Ate we sewing the whole top shut when doing the handles? I thought we’d just sew around the top to secure the handles but I’m confused why I need the gap for turning.
I’m new at sewing. Sorry!
Amber says
November 29, 2017 at 10:39 pmBecause you will need to be able to pull the bag through the little opening to turn it right side out.
Carol L. Simpkins says
January 2, 2018 at 3:31 pmJust finished my tote today. I love it. Had fun matching up the owls for the outside pocket I added. Wish I could post a photo of it.
Amber says
January 10, 2018 at 11:11 pmSounds great!
Katie says
March 10, 2018 at 3:45 pmGood afternoon! I’m currently working on cutting the pocket fabric, but I am confused on the sizing. I have a fabric that needs to be a certain direction (it’s chevron), so I’m trying to figure out which direction to cut the pocket fabric. However, when I looked down at the later instructions of what you actually do with it, it said fold it in half but the dimensions you gave don’t seem to match up with the size I’m supposed to cut. I don’t want to cut the fabric unless you are certain you’re dimensions are correct. :) Thanks so much! I’m going to go work on the handles in the meantime! I’m excited to complete this.
Amber says
April 16, 2018 at 6:42 pmCut the pocket width the same width as the bag. :)
Karolyn says
March 11, 2018 at 4:17 amBeginner here and I want to sew this bag for my next project. I’m kind of confused about the pocket though. How did you get that top stitch? Did you sew the material for the fabric before placing it between the 3 outer materials and stitching?
Amber says
April 16, 2018 at 5:55 pmYes, do that part first.
Emma says
March 16, 2018 at 8:15 amWhat kind of fabric did you use?
Amber says
March 29, 2018 at 9:45 pmI used a canvas for this to give it a little bulk
Meredith says
March 20, 2018 at 4:39 pmHi! I was wondering, what type of sewing machine do you prefer?
Amber says
March 29, 2018 at 9:44 pmI love Janome. I have a post about it: https://crazylittleprojects.com/best-sewing-machines-for-beginners/
Carina says
April 5, 2018 at 7:41 amI can’t wait to try this!! I plan to stitch the top from the outside so i would not need to turn them. Do you think that would work?
Amber says
April 16, 2018 at 5:47 pmProbably, it would just take a little tweaking. Let me know how it goes!
Carmel Bergin says
April 17, 2018 at 7:11 amHi, love the Tote, so many uses. I have made them before and purposefully made one handle about 3/4″ to 1″ (inch) shorter than the other so that when carrying in the hand the shorter handle fits neatly beneath the longer one. Also it doesn’t affect wearing it over the shoulder.
PS: this grey coloured font is very difficult to read.
cheryl says
May 1, 2018 at 2:33 amHi, I am very new to sewing and want to give this tote a go, Id like to make it for my mum and have some fabric that she will love. However its not canvas and as i am on a tight budget don’t really want to go buying other fabric. Is there some way i can use the fabric I have, I believe its just cotton. Thank you
Amber says
May 2, 2018 at 9:43 pmYes that’s totally fine!
Gay Ferland says
May 16, 2018 at 7:39 pmNice bag! I made many and have been giving to my girlfriends for their birthdays. I added a flower clip that coordinates the fabrics, so sassy chic!!!
Melissa says
November 6, 2018 at 9:17 pmHi. I am wanting to make matching bags for my daughter and I, for our Girl Scout camping trip this weekend. I would like to make my daughters smaller. How would I go about figuring out measurements for that? I have been sewing now for a few months. I started out with 18” doll clothes, then some pajamas and dresses for my daughter. I have also done some coasters, center pieces and table runners. I would really love to make 2 of these in the next few days.
Amber says
November 7, 2018 at 10:52 pmYou honestly could make this one any size at all. So easy! Just take a few inches off both the length and the width and you should be fine.
Lindsay says
November 17, 2018 at 11:29 pmOne of the easiest ways to turn the handles out is to use a mini-blind rod. They work like a dream to turn it out and make it a quick task! Loves these bags.
Fay says
December 30, 2018 at 8:11 pmHow far from the edge should I place the straps
Amber says
February 2, 2019 at 8:54 pmIt doesn’t matter a ton. Wherever you want them.