Don’t Throw It, Tote It!

In the spirit of TEDxJakarta that will have its 6th event on 19th December (yes, a week from now), I create this tote bag from oversized TEDxJakarta tee. Yet, you can also create this tote using any kind of tee that you want to up cycle

You only need a tee (of course!), I used Large size tee here, stretchy cotton fabric for the inside, webbing and pairs of snap button. 

 

      

Start by removing sleeves and seams off the tee. Mark and cut your pattern. Make sure you have 2 bodies with 2 sides and 1 base, same number with the lining. Mine is 40 x 45 cm with 7 cm width, don’t forget to add 1 cm for seam line 

Take the body and the base, with right sides meet together pin and mark your seam line. Sew it and stop 1cm from the edge. Do the same thing with the other body. 

Important:  all the seam lines must be the same, so when you start sewing the side it will become easier. Tips: put paper below your tee when you sew it, it will prevent the tee to jam in your machine since the fabric is stretchy. And don’t forget to double your seam ends. 

 

Take one of the sides, with right sides meet together pin and mark your seam line. Sew it and stop 1cm from the edge. Do the same thing with the other side. 

Now, pay attention to the picture. You will have this shape, then what you have to do is meet the right sides of the side and the body just like the picture suggest. A with A, B and B, so forth.

 

Voila! You made the outer skin of the bag. Do the same step for the lining. 

To make it a complete bag, put the outer inside the lining with the right sides meet. Then cut the webbing as you desire, mine is 55 cm long. Slip the webbing between the outer and the lining. Pin securely so that the webbing won’t move while you sew them. Leave 15 cm gap on the side

Reverse the bag by pulling it through the gap you just made. You will have the shape like the picture. We almost done here. 

 Iron a bit the opening to make it easier for sewing the lines. Sew two lines to make it stronger. 

To give some shape, I sew snap buttons on the sides. See the difference. Nicer eh?! :D 

 

 

 Last step, to make the bag easier to carry, make the webbing smaller by fold it in two and sew it.

I have tested the tote bag, and surprisingly it is strong! I put laptop and charger in the bag, add with camera and its charger, clutch, a water bottle, battery and the strength of the tote bag made me proud *big grin*

Still dont have any idea what is TEDxJakarta that i mentioned earlier? Check this out >> www.tedxjkt.org

with love,

an.indya