quick and easy tutorial: mini coloring tote

My kiddo needed a gift to bring to her preschool for a gift exchange. The price limit was around $2 which didn't leave a whole lot of options. Instead of raiding the Target Dollar Spot, I found small coloring books at Walgreens 2/$1 and made a little tote to hold them! I added a few crayons to finish it off. It is an easy project that doesn't use a lot of supplies, making it inexpensive as well. So, if you find yourself in need of a cheap and easy handmade gift for little ones, here ya go:

The coloring books I picked up are about 7.75" tall and 5.25" wide. The dimensions below are sized to fit this size coloring book/pad  and 4 crayons. If you need to change the size of your tote, it's really easy to do! {notes on that at the bottom}

*I used cotton twill as a lining to make the bag sturdier. The lining isn't necessary though. Leave that off if you want to speed up the process!

Step One: Pressing

Take one of your main fabric pieces and fold the top short edge down by 1/2 an inch and press. Then fold down another inch and press. Do the same with your other main piece. Lay both pieces right side down and place your lining pieces on top. Line the bottom of the lining pieces up with the bottom of your main pieces. Fold the flaps you created over the lining and press. This gives you a nice finished edge for the top of your tote. Set aside.

Next, grab your strap pieces. Fold one in half  lengthwise (wrong sides touching) and press. Open the strap back up and fold both sides in to meet the crease. Press again. Repeat with other strap.

Finally, grab your pocket piece and fold it in half wrong sides touching. Press. The folded edge will be the top of your pocket.

Your pieces should look like the photo below :)

Step Two: Topstitching

Top stitch along both the top and bottom edges of the flaps. I did two lines of stitching along both edges for a more finished look. Set those aside.

Grab your pocket piece and topstitch along the folded edge. Again, I did two lines just because I felt like being fancy. Next, starting with the open side of your strap pieces, sew along both long edges. Sew anywhere from 1/8" to 1/4" from the edges. You'll be sewing along the very edge of the straps when you attach them to the tote pieces so just leave yourself room for that.

Step 3: Fun with your fabric marking pen

Measure 2" from the bottom of whichever main piece you'd like to use as the front of your tote and mark a line across the entire piece.

Next, mark a line across the bottom of your pocket piece (1/4" from the raw edge). Line up the raw edge of  the pocket piece with the line you drew on your tote piece. Make sure the pocket is centered and pin in place. Sew along the line you drew on your pocket.

Fold up the pocket and press. Edgestitch along the very bottom edge of the pocket and along both sides. Now, grab your ruler and line up it along the left side of the pocket. Make marks at the 2 inch, 3 inch, and 4 inch spots to create stitch lines. Sew along the lines you drew to create the crayon slots. I like to sew from the bottom of the pocket to the top, making sure to backstitch at both points of every line.

Step 4: Attaching straps

Basically, you want the outside edges of the straps to line up with the outer edges of your pocket piece. The bottom edges of your strap will of course line up with the bottom of your tote. Pin in place. I used the front tote piece as a guide for placing my straps on the back part of the tote. Starting at the bottom of the tote, stitch as close to the edge of your straps as possible. I originally planned to sew all the way around to the other side and realized that was just crazy! Instead, when you get to the topmost line of stitching on your tote piece, leave your needle down, pivot, and stitch across and then down in the other direction. {See the 3rd photo below}

If you want to reinforce the straps, sew an X at the top of each one before going on to the next step.

Step 5: Sewing the tote

Once your straps are sewn in place, place your tote pieces together {right sides touching} and pin. Make sure your straps match up at the bottom of the tote pieces.  I hate pinning so I used 2 binder clips instead. Sew across the bottom using a 3/8 inch seam allowance. Serge, ziz zag stitch, or pink the seam. Finally, sew along both sides of the tote {3/8 inch seam allowance here too}, from the bottom to the top. Finish your seams, turn bag right side out, and press. All finished! Now stuff that tote with goodies, slap a bow on it, and call it a day :)

How to resize the pattern for smaller/larger coloring books:

Simple! Measure your coloring books and determine what the finished size of your tote needs to be {I made my tote a bit wider and shorter than the coloring books}. If you're going to use a 3/8" seam allowance like I did, add .75" to the width and 2" to the height of your main tote piece measurements. For the lining, use the same measurements, but subtract 1.5" from the height. To determine the length of your handles, I used a piece of ribbon to get an idea of how long they needed to be. For the pocket piece, just keep in mind that each crayon slot is 1" wide and you'll need to add 2" to the total width. For example, if you are making a wider tote and would like 6 crayon slots, your pocket piece should be 8" wide.

*for personal use only, thanks!

Make sure to add photos of your totes to my Flickr pool! I'd love to see what you come up with.

*note on the paper doll fabric I used: I bought it some time ago at a local quilt shop. Info from the selvedge:

Pattern# 5702 Hoodie's Collection for Blank Quilting 2009 ~ Cutie Pie

www.blankquilting.com