Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Ruffled Tote Bag


I am such a girl.

I'm a skirt wearin', French-inspired, headband lovin', pink adoring, party planning, ruffle obsessing, GIRL!


And I believe my little girl is following in my footsteps.

Yesterday at Ikea (her first time since she was a toddler), she shrieked at the sight of the decorated rooms. She kept saying, "I could LIVE here! I could WORK here! I could SLEEP here! I LOVE it!"

And then she saw the kids rooms all set up.

And she went officially nuts.

"Mama, there's hearts! And lady bugs! And little beds! And flowers!"

Oh, yes, she did me proud.

And then the cuteness wore off when she was in need of a nap on the way home. Meltdowns are never cute, am I right ladies?


Now, I know what you're wondering - what's the deal with all these pictures of the bag on the chair?

Well, I was inspired by this post on Susie Harris' blog and just plain fell in love with the ruffle bags she made. I mean, how can you not? Seriously.

I lugged out the sewing machine and got to work! Susie posted great instructions for making it on her blog, but I'll just give you some tips as well. Oh, and by the way, I'm a VERY amateur seamstress and am just learning how to sew, so you really don't need to be an expert to make these! I promise! It just takes some time.

What you'll need:
-Set of 3 canvas tote bags from Wal-Mart (around $5 for 3 - in the craft section)
-1 yard of fabric (I used unbleached cotton fabric from Wal-Mart that was around $2/yd)
-Silk flower embellishment or whatever you want to use - I got the flower at Hobby Lobby a few years ago.


Cut the fabric into 6 strips 4 1/2" wide and seam all edges. You could do wider strips if you wanted wider ruffles. Basically, you can make it however you want.

You'll ruffle the strips, then sew them onto the bag. I just put ruffles on the one side of the bag, but you could do both if you wanted. I just got impatient and ran out of time, so I did it the easy way!


Isn't it a fun summer tote bag? You must try it! Let me know if you have any questions!

14 comments:

  1. That is so darn adorable! I'm going to give that a try!

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  2. Oh I so love it!!! I am so going to have to try that.

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  3. i always drool over those on "made by lex"- if you have never seen that site - she has the best, best style!! anyways- you gave me the courage to try it. yours is beautiful. i`m loving raising "girly girls" too. even the little one smiles and rubs the fabric between her fingers whenever i put something new on her to wear.

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  4. That looks perfect! I love it! I now have a summer project for my daughters.

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  5. Thanks so much for the great tutorial! I've really enjoyed looking through your blog- the nursery is beautiful! Love the words you chose for the walls!
    -Arielle

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  6. Thanks so much for the great tutorial! I've really enjoyed looking through your blog- the nursery is beautiful! Love the words you chose for the walls!
    -Arielle

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  7. The purse is ssooo adorable. esp caught my eye, i make purses to sell :)
    anyhoo, just wanted to congraulate you. i just came from the lettered cottage and saw she has you featured!! How exciting!!

    Rachel

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  8. Hello! I just came over from the Lettered Cottage. Oh my... your blog is fabulous!!!! Can't wait to have a moment to go back through your archives! I did notice you had a wooden chair with lots of detailing (you wrote there were four plus a round table) and that you were working on them. Can't WAIT to see what you do! I have almost the exact same chairs with a round table and they are needing some love!
    Also, I had a moment to read about your scare with your baby... isn't God good?! We too had a scare like this with our second. So scary.
    Have a great Thursday!

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  9. Love it! Your bag would still look better than mine any day. I am a horrible sewer. Perhaps I should take some lessons now that I've seen this adorable bag. lol!

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  10. I'm not all that girly but I think a bag this cute might just make me a girl convert :) Nice work!

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  11. Love the ruffled tote! I am definetly going to try this! So adorable!

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  12. Wow I love this.I also love the idea everything this summer is ruffles, to cute!I may just try this if I get some time,lol.

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  13. That ruffled bag is absolutely GORGEOUS! I love it! Beautifully made!
    Hugs ~
    Sharron♥

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I love hearing from you! Thanks for your comments! ~Aimee

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