Today I am excited to share my finished Makers Tote. I joined the #makerstoteswap in August and I was so excited about the chance to make someone the Makers Tote pattern by Anna Graham of Noodlehead. I’ve had the pattern since it came out, and this was my first time making it.
My partners questionnaire said she liked cotton and steel, warm colors, texture, and classic blocks like stars. So I pulled fabric from my stash, made a quick stop at my local quilt shop Quilters Crossing for what I was missing, and then got to work.
The first thing I did was paper piece the Create. and sawtooth stars. Create is a free pattern by Kristy of Quiet Play patterns. Kristy’s patterns are some of the very first foundation paper piecing patterns I ever used when I started quilting 3 years ago, and they’re still so wonderful. The stars are a free download from Generations Quilt Patterns, they finish at 3 inches across.
My background fabric is Cotton and Steel Sprinkle in Jelly Bracelet and the other fabrics are from various C&S charm packs that I had in my stash. I pulled all the warm colors because that is what my partner said she liked. I love that the background fabric reads neutral from far away and then up close has the hot pink dots all over it!
The pattern calls for a slip pocket on one side and a zippered pocket on the other. I decided to skip the zippered pocket and only have the slip pocket. This orange and gold striped fabric is fantastic, and I love that the person who made my makers tote used the pink version of it!
Another part of the pattern that I slightly changed is the exterior construction. Anna has you simply baste your exterior panel onto the soft and stable, but I decided to quilt it in a crosshatch pattern. This took more time, but I LOVE the texture it created and I feel like it made the bag a bit sturdier to stand up on its own. I used Aurifil 50wt thread in color 2311 (my favorite neutral) for the quilting.
The only issue I ran into with quilting was that it caused the bag size to shrink slightly. Instead of being 33 inches across, it was only 32.25 inches, so I had to slice off a little of the side gussets to make sure there was plenty of room for the zipper.
I used the same Sprinkle fabric for the interior of the bag. I’m personally a fan of light colored bag interiors because it makes it easier to find things when they fall to the bottom. The pockets are various C&S prints in the same color scheme as the piecing on the outside of the bag.
I made a wonder clip cushion and sent a spool of my favorite Aurifil for two of the extras. The wonder clip cushion is a tutorial by Squeeze Quilts. It came together really quickly, and I was able to use scraps that I had leftover!
I absolutely adore how this bag turned out, and it was totally worth the few cursing sessions that happened due to awkward bulky seams. I am so happy with my Janome 8900 and how well it handled all the layers. I didn’t have any skipped stitches and the walking foot was my best friend during most of the construction.
Now I’m off to cross a few more things off of my to-do list before baby boy arrives. It’s looking like my Doctor is going to schedule and induction for me sometime next week! I’m super excited but also anxious because I have several things to get done (both sewing related and not) before that happens.
Wow! Just stellar! Where in TX are you? ~karen, New Braunfels
Love love the bag, super awesome! and the clip pincushion, putting that on my to make list!
That's such a pretty bag
They are wonderful! Your partner is going to love them!
-Soma
Love your maker's bag. You should link it up with my Elm Street Quilt Bag It event! Any bag you link up earns you entries for a chance for great sponsor giveaways. You can find more about it http://www.elmstreetquilts.com/p/bag-it.html
Such a great tote – love the fabrics you chose! Thanks for linking up to TGIFF!
Wonderful!
what a stunning make – I love the 'create' and it's all so pretty – what a lucky partner you have 🙂 !
How lucky is your partner! This is fabulous, great job. Sure to be a treasured bag.
This is a beautiful version, lucky partner! I love this pattern, I really need to make another one for myself
Oh lucky swap-mate. Awesome sauce! I am inspired to make one. Best of luck with baby. It's always such a joyful time.
great job! love your pincushion!
Thank you!! I love the one my partner sent me, and once baby is here and things have settled down I definitely want to make the small version of the tote.
Thank you so much!! I have a doctors appointment on Monday, so fingers crossed things are moving along!
Your Maker's Tote is gorgeous! I made one for my knitting projects, and the more I use it, the more I love it. I haven't seen the Wonder Clip cushion before—I think I need me one of those. I have some C&S in the print with the rotary dial phones, so I know another Maker's Tote is in my future.
What a marvelous tote! It looks great! And the Wonder clip cushion is brilliant! What a lucky partner you have! I am so excited for you and your upcoming bundle!! I am partial to boys and my 2 are 2 1/2 years apart! They are now 17 & 14!!! Best of luck to you and I pray everything goes perfectly!
This is awesome. I'm just starting to make one, so I might quilt the outside like you did. That wonder clip cushion is too darn cute.
What a fantastic finish! I love the paper pieced pattern and the small sawtooth stars. The quilting is perfect, and that wonder clips cushion is awesome! I've never seen one of those before. Beautiful work!!
Very nice. I think I need one of those!
A beautiful finish. Love all the cotton and steel fabrics. I made myself a wonder clip cushion and use it a lot.