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Workshop Tote Bag
44 January 2002 Popular Patchwork
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This bag is designed by Davina Thomas
to hold all your small cutting mats and rulers
and is ideal to take to workshops and classes.
No more last minute rush searching for your
equipment. It has a button fastening on the
sides, which opens to reveal even more
pockets and ties inside. It was designed for
beginners as it covers several simple blocks
and techniques but if you are adventurous
you could change the blocks or even use
up some UFO’s from last year.
The blocks
Spirit of St Louis
12in finished size
Cut
❖ Four 21/2 x 61/2in strips
of dark fabric
❖ Four 21/2 x 61/2in strips
of medium fabric
❖ Four 21/2 x 61/2in strips
of light fabric
❖ Sew into groups of
three in order - dark,
medium, light and
press. Assemble as
shown in Fig 1.
Finished size: 16 x 17in (40 x 43cm) plus handles
(16 x 34in (40 x 86cm) open)
Skill level: Beginner
Materials
Four contrasting fat quarters for the blocks
1.2m material for contrast and lining
40cm pelmet or craft Vilene (must be 90cm wide)
45 x 120cm wadding
20cm calico (for Windmill block)
45 x 120cm calico or similar for backing
(will not be seen in finished bag)
❖ Useful gadget - a rouleau turner or fast turn
❖ Six buttons
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
2
Cut each of the
strips into pieces
21/2in wide. You need
eighteen in total.
(see Fig 3) and sew as
before. Make the remaining
geese in this way.
4
Sew into a strip of five
geese - all pointing the
same way.
Windmill pockets
6 x 6in finished size
Choose three fabrics. Cut
❖ Four 4in squares from
light fabric
❖ Two 4in squares from
dark fabric
❖ Two 4in squares from
medium fabric
❖ Two 61/2in squares
of calico for lining
the pockets
Fig 2. Chequer board block
Fig 1. Spirit of St Louis piecing
Chequer board
12in finished size
Choose two fabrics which
contrast and cut
❖ Three 21/2 x 15in strips
of dark fabric
❖ Three 21/2 x 15in strips
of light fabric
TIP!
If you have
sufficient fabric you
can cut a bit longer
which allows for
slight inaccuracies
in your cutting.
1
Sew into pairs RS
together, one light and
one dark strip. Press
towards the dark fabric.
3
Assemble into one block
as shown in Fig 2.
Flying geese
4 x 10in finished size
Choose two contrasting
fabrics and cut
❖ Five 21/2 x 41/2in strips in
dark fabric for the geese
❖ Ten 21/2in squares for the
corner triangles in light
or medium fabric
1
Press or mark the
squares on the diagonal.
Place a square RS together
on the rectangle and sew
on the marked line.
2
Press open and trim
away excess fabric
from the back.
3
Place another square RS
down on the other end
WS
RS
Sew on marked line,
fold back and press
Fig 3. Constructing the flying geese
Add second square as above
1
Fold the light
squares and press on
the diagonal or mark lightly
with pencil.
2
Place each light square
RS together with a dark
or medium square. Sew
carefully 1/4in away from
the marked line on each
square. Repeat this sewing
1
/4in away on the other side
of the line.
3
Cut apart on the marked
line and press towards
the dark or medium fabric.
4
5
Trim each to 31/2in
square if necessary.
Arrange into blocks
and sew, press carefully.
See Fig 4 over the page.
Note that Davina has
arranged the blocks in
two ways.
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Fig 4. Windmill blocks (two variations on block layout)
6
Place each block RS
together with calico and
sew round edge leaving a
2in gap for turning in one
side - this should not be
near a corner.
7
Turn through and press,
folding the unstitched
edges in place. You do not
need to sew as they will be
caught down when the
pocket is stitched in place.
Sashed nine patch
10in square
Cut
❖ Nine 21/2in squares of
dark or medium fabric
❖ Four 21/2in squares of
light fabric
❖ Four 21/2 x 61/2in strips
of dark or medium fabric
Sew into a block. Note that
in Fig 5 only two colours of
fabric have been shown, but
you can add more as in the
photograph of the bag.
Small needle pocket
Cut two 61/2 x 13/4in strips.
Place RS together and sew
round most of the edge.
Leave a small gap for
turning. Turn RS out and
press the edge, neatly
folding the unsewn edges
to the inside. (This can be
made from pieced scraps
left from the other blocks.)
Make up outer
pockets
1
Measure your Chequer
board and Spirit of St
Louis blocks. They should
measure 121/2in square.
2
Cut four 21/2 x 121/2in
strips of contrast fabric.
Sew two strips to the sides
of each block and press.
3
Cut a strip 41/2 x 161/2in.
Place the Chequer board
block RS down on the strip
and sew with 1/4in seam.
Add the St Louis block in
the same way.
Quilting and binding
the large pockets
1
2
Cut a piece of backing and
wadding each 18 x 30in.
Place the backing down
and lay the wadding on
top. Lay the pieced pockets
neatly on top and smooth
down. Tack together and
quilt by hand or machine.
TIP!
If you are quilting
by machine, try to
start and stop at the
edges as it leaves fewer
ends to finish.
3
Cut two strips of fabric
13/4 x 161/2in. Fold in
half lengthwise and press.
4
Line up the raw edges
with the short sides of
your block and sew with
a 1/4in seam. Fold over to
the back and slip stitch
by hand. Repeat at the
other end.
Quilting and binding
the small pockets
1
2
Cut lining fabric and
wadding 12 x 18in.
Join the flying geese to
the sashed nine patch,
adding extra strips if either
of your blocks is not 101/2in
in length.
3
Cut two strips 11/2in x
101/2in and add to either
side to bring up to 161/2in.
TIP!
Fig 5. Constructing the nine patch block
These pockets were designed for a ruler that is
3 or 4in wide, if you want to use for a 6in wide ruler
then add the spacer strips either side of the flying
geese block to make that wider.
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Photographs by Jonathan Farmer.
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4
Put the calico RS down
and lay the wadding on
top. Place the blocks RS
up and smooth out. Tack
together well and quilt as
before.
Pocket
openings
Seam line
5
Cut one strip 11/2 x 17in
from dark fabric for the
binding and fold in half.
Sew with a 1/4in seam to
the top of the pocket and
slipstitch to the back. Note
this pocket will need trimming
later to fit the width of bag.
Sewing
line
Assembling the
inner pockets
Extra
stitching
for
divisions
Cut
❖ One 161/2 x 14in strip
of contrast fabric for
inner bag
❖ One 161/2 x 31/2in of
contrast fabric for
inner bag top strip
❖ Four 12 x 11/4in strips
for ties and button loops
❖ Two 2 x 20in strips for
short handles (cut 36in
for longer handles)
Make the ties
Sew to
divide
pockets
1
Fold a strip RS together
and sew along entire
length. Turn to RS. Use the
rouleau turner gadget or a
safety pin (it can be tricky,
as it is so narrow). Repeat
for other strips.
2
Cut one strip into six
pieces each 2in long for
button loops. Make the
handles in the same way.
TIP!
For a fatter handle,
cut a piece of wadding
1 x 24in and sew with
the seam before you
turn it through.
3
Join the two inner bag
pieces together catching
the ties in place as you join
the seam.
4
Position the Windmill
pockets in place and
sew. Make sure you position
the turning gap at the
bottom and the pocket
opening at the top. Add
Binding
Pocket
opening
Fig 6. The inner pockets
the needle pocket and sew
divisions in place to make
small pockets (see Fig 6).
Final Assembly
Cut
❖ 161/2 x 171/2in of contrast
for lining 1 (inside bag)
❖ 161/2in x 35in of contrast
for lining 2 (outside bag)
❖ 16 x 36in of craft Vilene trim to fit your exact bag
at the last moment
1
Tack the small pocket
to lining 1. Join to the
inner pocket at the bottom
leaving a turning gap of
at least 10in.
2
Tack outer pocket to
lining 2 and place RS
up, pinning the handles and
loops in place, raw edges
48 January 2002 Popular Patchwork
matching. Distribute
the loops evenly
down the two
sides of
the bag.
3
Place inner
pockets
RS down
evenly
on top
and pin
well, all
round
the edge.
4
Sew
round
the entire
bag. Turn
through the
gap. Insert the
Vilene and sew
up the opening.
5
Sew the buttons
securely in place.