Sewing - Disappearing 9 Patch Tote

I am still really bothered with my first quilting episode – Quilting is Not Easy.  I found this Disappearing 9 Patch tutorial by Quilts and ATCs and thought "maybe this is my kind of quilting".  Surely I can sew this to make a straight square!  So here we go.

You need 18 - 5″ squares for the blocks so I used a charm pack since it is already cut for me.  Take 9 charms and sew them together in 3 rows of 3 and press.

 

Sew these three rows together and press.  To line up the seams, stick a pin at the seam intersections.

 

Repeat with another 9 squares.  Now we have a front and back to our tote.

 

Cut each block in half, turn them and cut those two pieces in half again.  Notice the center square is now the small square in all 4 blocks!

 

Turn the blocks until you are happy with the arrangement.

 

Sew them together and press. What the heck happened??  They didn’t end up straight!  I really think quilting is NOT for me.  Anyways, trim to square up the block.

 

Repeat with the other block.

 

Cut a 3.5” x 13.5” strip from a fat quarter and sew it to the bottom of each block.   Cut a piece of fusible fleece or iron on interfacing to match each block.

 

Decorative stitch the seams.

 

Sew sides and bottom together.

 

Box the corners by taking the bottom corner and squeeze it so the seams meet.  Stick a pin through all thicknesses at the seam line so that you know you are matched up.  Once you have the seams lined up perfectly, pin in place. Mark a line at 1.5” from the point. Sew a couple times down that line to make sure you have strong seam.  Trim off corner and zigzag. Repeat for the other corner.

 

Set aside for now.  From a fat quarter, cut two 5″ x 18″ pieces and cut two charms in half for the handles.  Sew one charm to each end of the handle.  Press and topstitch.

 

Pin and stitch them to the top of each side about 2” away from the center.

 

Use a couple fat quarters to make a lining for your bag.  Add pockets if desired.  Box the corners. 

Pin the lining and tote with right sides together.  Pin all the way around.

 

Leave an opening about 6”for turning.

 

Now pull the bag through that 6” opening you left.

 

Here is what it looks like once it is all pulled through the opening.

 

Pin the 6” opening and topstitch all the way around the bag.

 

Topstitch again about 1” from first line.

 

Not too bad eh?  I think my quilting abilities will stick to something this simple!   The tote is not a very big - about 11” wide x 13.5 tall” plus the handles. Gusset is about 3” deep at the bottom.