Summery Chevron Tote Bag

I was inspired by the Super Simple Summer Sack made at Etcetorize. Its been on my pinterest "Crafts to Make" board for quite awhile. I've been on a sewing tear the past five days and am excited to finally get this project accomplished.

I followed her excellent tutorial as best as I understood it. The more sewing projects I attempt, the greater my sewing vocabulary grows, but sometimes it seems like Greek to me. Mostly I'm not sure that I hemmed up the sides correctly. It turned out functional and cute so maybe its a matter of preference on how you finish the edges?????

I did try to line up the chevron pattern on the front, but the fabric was off. Etceterize did warn that by cutting a diagonal line we were cutting against the bias of the fabric which could result in the material stretching. This is plain cotton (washed and ironed before cutting) and it did stretch just enough to throw the pattern off. Not sure if this problem can be fixed or if its just something that happens and thats that.

hanging empty

hanging full

boxed out the corners to create a
bit more space inside the bag

inside pockets created naturally by the diagonal cut

You can see the liner up above. Its a very light cotton fabric that I had on hand.

This was a fun bag to make and I'd like to try and make more. I think it would be pretty to add a decorative ribbon to the front of the bag along the hem line. Or adding a heavier lining on the bottom of the bag to increase its durability. Its a fun design to play around with.