How to Make a Beach Towel Tote Bag

Create your own durable beach tote perfect for carrying around your summer book, suntan lotion, and other supplies. Using a decorative beach towel and a few simple craft tools, transform a simple lounge towel into a soft, sizeable, and easy-to-carry bag perfect for the lake, the beach, or strolling downtown on a shopping trip.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 large beach towel
• 1 needle
• 1 spool of thread
• 1 sewing tape measure
• 1 pair scissors
• 1 large button (optional)
• decorations (optional)

1. Decide what size you want your tote bag to be: fold the towel over to gauge its depth and see what will fit inside, such as books, lotion, towels, and more. Fold over the top to see what size flap you want to close your bag. Measure and write down your calculations.

2. Measure and trim off the sides, leaving the center and as much fabric as you need on either side to make it wide enough for your supplies.

3. Measure and cut off the excess towel along the bottom: you want the top hem left untouched, since it's the flap and the most visible part. Hem the new lip of the bag where you trimmed off the excess towel.

4. 
    
   The tote bag seam line reversed

   Sew the sides of your bag with strong, careful stitches, either by hand or with a sewing machine. Keep in mind before you start that you'll be reversing the bag to hide the seams.

5. Hem the sides of your top flap where you trimmed away the extra material; make sure the new seam lines up with the side seams of your bag, so your flap isn't too narrow.

6. 
    

   Cut a small button hole in the flap and stitch around its edges. Sew a decorative button to the bag so you can fasten the flap closed, or sew a fabric loop at the bottom of the flap instead.

7. 
    
   Leftover scraps make a perfect strap for your bag

   Use the strips of trimmed side material to make a strap for your tote bag. Measure them for the length you want, trim, then fold their ragged edges towards the middle and sew. Join them together at the shoulder seam, making sure the seam is joined on the underside of the strap.

8. Sew either end of the strap to the inside corners of your bag closest to the flap, in order to hide the seams. Test to make sure the stitches are strong enough to support your items' weight. Trim the outside corners with decorative buttons, if you like.

Tips & Warnings

• Add any decorations you want, such as extra buttons, pins, shells, etc.

[Susanh]

on 6/13/2009 Great idea for re-purposing a beach towel.

[westernmom]

on 4/26/2009 Cute bag! WalMart has very cheap beach towels as well. Thanks for sharing.