Another project completed (updated)

Hello, everyone.

When I got the pattern for the Charm Pack Apron from Shabby Fabrics, I also got a pattern for a tote bag. Today it was completed.

This is the inside-out, quilted bag, with its straps and the top of the pattern booklet.

The front of the pattern booklet.

The pattern instructs you to stop at a seam end that is not the fabric edge sometimes.

When that point comes, both on the lining and the external bag, you need to clip the seam almost to the stitching or the bag will not lie smoothly.

This is a leftover half-charm from the apron project. I thought, and still think, that tote bags should have somewhere to hang dangly things like keys.

The half-charm is ready to sew into the top edge of the bag.

I got a little excited with the larger pocket and folded it so that four all of the six charm squares show. The other two and the remainder of the top and bottom form the lining of this pocket.

The completed bag.

This was an interesting project. I found that on the final sewing, the stitching got a little hard for the machine. Don't try it with a size 11 universal needle, it gets pretty thick at the end. And the batik lining fabric was resistant to piercing, too. I used a size 14 top stitch needle, which is sharper than a universal needle. It still had some hard going while top stitching at the straps and the key loop.

And yes, I was still dialed up on Christmassy fabrics when picking out the charms. I used stash fabric for the sashing instead of cutting up charms for it. The interfacing is Thermolam, which is iron-on. It's thin and stable.