How to Make a Fabric Rope Tote

A bright fabric will make for a cheery looking tote.

Totes are useful for carrying groceries, books, or other odds and ends. You can add rope to this tote in the form of handles. Totes are simple to make, and you can make many of these for your grocery shopping needs, which is especially useful as some grocery stores are starting to charge for plastic sacks. If you find fabric on sale, you can make totes for less money than it costs to buy even the cheap ones.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric
• Measuring tape
• Straight edge
• Tailor's chalk
• Pins
• Sewing machine
• Iron
• Rope

Instructions

1. Lay your fabric out. Find one of the corners, and arrange that at the bottom-left. Measure 18 inches from the left, near the bottom, and make a mark along the bottom. Measure 45 inches along the left edge, and make another mark. From this mark, measure in 18 inches and make another mark.

2. Move the tape down from your mark on the left by about four or five inches, and make another mark at 18 inches in. Move down again and mark, until you have several marks on the right that define your right edge. Do the same for the long measurement, measuring from the bottom, make a mark every four to five inches until you reach the right most mark.

3. Use your straight edge to follow the dots with your tailor's chalk, drawing a rectangle shape. Cut it out. Use this technique to measure and cut out pieces that are 5 inches in width and 20 inches in length.

4. Lay your long piece with the pretty side up. Measure 22.5 inches in and mark that on both long edges. Take one of your smaller pieces and measure 2.5 inches along one of the short edge, and mark it on the pretty side.

5. Match the marks, pretty sides together, with the bulk of the short piece laying across the bag. Pin the edges together and sew with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Do the same thing for the other piece. You'll have what looks like a rough cross when you unfold everything and lay it out flat.

6. Fold all of the pieces up and match the corners together. Pin along all of the edges, giving yourself a rough bag shape. Sew along each edge, leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Turn inside out and use your iron to press all of the seams.

7. Turn the tote right side out, and fold the top edge in by half an inch, and then by another half inch. Press. Cut two pieces of rope, 12 inches in length or so. Find the middle of one of the long sides by measuring it and dividing that number in half. Mark the center.

8. Pin one end of one of your pieces of rope three inches to the right of the middle mark. Pin the other end of the same piece three inches to the left of the middle mark. Do the same on the other side of the bag.

9. Sew all the way around the top, sewing the top hem and the rope in place. Remove the pins from the ropes when you go.

Tips & Warnings

• If you like carrying your tote over your shoulder, cut longer pieces of rope.

• This is something of a plain tote, you can add an iron-on decoration, sew on a patch or paint lettering or decorations with fabric paint onto your tote.

• Your machine may not like sewing over your rope, if your machine cannot don't force it, that could break your needle. Unpin your rope, sew the hem in place, and hand stitch the straps in place.