How to Sew a Tote Bag + Free Everyday Tote Bag Pattern

The everyday bag you’ve been looking for is just a quick make away. With our free pattern and a yard of Lightweight Cotton Twill or another medium weight fabric like Belgian Linen™, you’ll soon be toting snacks, books and things you need on the go in style. Read on for step-by-step instructions to sew your own tote bag and variations to make this tutorial work for any season or application.

For your Everyday Tote Bag, we love using Lightweight Cotton Twill and Belgian Linen™. Our Belgian Linen will give the tote a really luxe feel. It has a good medium-weight, a great texture, and the perfect balance of structure and drape for this project. 

Due to the structure of the weave, we recommend finishing hems and seam allowances to prevent unraveling. Before you pre-wash your fabric, use a zig-zag stitch or serge along the raw edges.

The instructions are written for a uni-directional print. If you choose to use a print that has a definite direction, you may chose to alter the pattern a tiny bit and put a seam into the bottom of the outer shell. Basically, follow the same instructions as provided for the lining.

Illustration note: In the illustrations, the white side is the fabric’s wrong side, the blue side is the fabric’s right side.

Seam allowance: All seam allowances are 1/2” (1cm) unless otherwise noted.

Straps: You can make the straps from fabric or purchase a strap kit online. Looking for a beautiful, high-end leather strap kit? We recommend Klum House.

First, fold your fabric in half lengthwise (bottom to top) and cut out the following pieces on the fold:

Next, cut your interior lining piece in half so that you have 2 pieces measuring 19″ wide (48 cm) x 18″ long (46 cm).

Place the 2 interior lining pieces right sides together. Pin and sew along the sides and bottom leaving a 3” (8 cm) opening along the bottom edge (one of the 19” edges). Set aside.

Fold the pocket in half lengthwise, right sides together. Pin in place and sew along the sides and top leaving a 2” (5 cm) opening along the top edge. Turn right side out and hand stitch or topstitch* the opening closed.

Optional: Topstitch along all 4 sides of the pocket to create a nice clean finish.

Align the pocket to the outer fabric piece. (We centered the pocket and pinned it 5” (13 cm) from the top edge but where the pocket is placed is up to you!) Sew the pocket in place along the sides and bottom with a 1/4” (1/2 cm) seam allowance. 

Optional: If you’d like your pocket to have 2 compartments, divide the width of the pocket in half and stitch a straight line from the bottom to the top of the pocket.

With the pocket piece secured in place, take the outer fabric piece and fold it in half with right sides together. Pin and sew along the sides, making sure to leave the top open.

With your outer fabric piece still inside out, pinch and pull apart one of the bottom corners. Flatten the bag so that the side seam and bottom seam are aligned. On the corner, measure in 5″ (13 cm) and draw a line. Repeat on the other corner.

Align your side seam to the crease from where we folded the fabric in half earlier. Take your straight edge ruler and align it to where the sides measure 5” (13 cm) wide. Draw a horizontal line at this point and pin the fabric above that. Repeat for the other corner. 

Stitch along the lines in the corner of each bag, backstitch at each end and trim the excess. Repeat this process for the interior lining of the bag taking care to align the two seams when pining.

Take the outer fabric piece and turn it right side out. Place it inside the interior lining piece, right sides together. Carefully match the side seams, pin and stitch along the top edge.

Flip the bag right side out through the gap we left in the bottom of the interior lining. Hand stitch the 3” gap closed and stitch around the top of the bag.

If you’re using premade straps, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for attaching them. We used a kit that we bought and attached them with grommets, but you could make fabric straps instead from the remaining fabric!

Whether you make straps or use a kit, you’ll need to determine how long your straps should be. Hold up the bag to your side and raise/lower it until you’ve found a location for the bag that feels best to you. Measure from the top of your shoulder to the top of the bag. 

Strap Length Equation: (shoulder to bag location measurement + 3) x 2 = length of strap.

We liked our bag at a distance of 10.5″ (27 cm) from the top of the shoulder. So using the strap length equation above, the length of our straps are 27″, which got from: (10.5″ + 3) x 2 = 27” (69 cm)

Once you have your straps sewn and ready to go, pin them in place at a distance apart that works best for what you want to do with your bag and sew them in place. For reference, our straps were placed 5” (13 cm) in from each side seam.

Once your straps are secured and in place, you’re ready to get going!

With a few changes, you can turn your Everyday Tote Bag into a perfect carry-all for beach day! We recommend our durable, eco-friendly Recycled Canvas fabric for a vibrant and heavy duty beach bag that is water resistant and easy to wipe clean. It’s also thick enough to make a durable bag, but not so thick that you’ll have trouble sewing through multiple layers of fabric. Durable, sturdy, custom printed, and eco-friendly—it really doesn’t get any better!

Try using 7/16″ size grommets and 2 yards of 1/4″ rope to make straps with a beach vibe.

Send your little trick-or-treater out in style this year with a DIY Halloween tote bag in their favorite designs. Use our upholstery-grade Recycled Canvas to make your tote sturdy enough to hold all the candy your little one can stuff inside of it.

Follow the steps above or watch the video tutorial below to make your own Halloween treat bag.

With a bit of hacking, you can transform the Everyday Tote Bag into an Everyday Backpack! Using our Belgian Linen™ fabric and your preferred strapping material, you can tailor the instructions into a cool and chic backpack with your favorite Spoonflower design.

With light Lightweight Cotton Twill and homemade wax, you can make your Everyday Tote Bag stronger, more durable and water-resistant. Perfect for the farmers market, waxing your tote bag gives it extra protection and a little vintage charm.

We recommend at 1:1 – 6 oz beeswax to 6 oz paraffin. This will coat a yard of fabric.