Oh boy, guys, I’m excited because FINALLY I’ve gotten back to the beloved Learn to Machine Sew course for beginners! I left off back in September with a lesson on how to sew French seams, which is my favorite way to sew seams because they are beautiful and easy! And today I finally have for you the accompanying practical tutorial for getting more experience with this technique: an easy tote bag sewing tutorial!

You can NEVER have enough reusable, washable fabric shopping bags, as far as I’m concerned. They are easy to sew and while there are a gazillion tutorials for sewing them (or making bags without sewing), but this is a special tutorial. I call it the “One Square Tote Bag” because it is made from literally one 75 x 75 cm (30″) square of fabric. Which means that you can make four of them from a meter and a half cut of 150 cm (60″) wide fabric.

With the One Square Tote, you can choose a wide and short bag, or a more narrow and deep one with the same piece, add boxed corners for a wider bag base and, with a bit of extra fabric and a zipper, add a little zippered pocket inside that’s perfect for sticking your cash, keys or phone in!

And even more ecologically friendly is a One Square Tote made from an old bedsheet! You can get a bunch of bags out of one sheet without having to pay for fabric and instead repurposing what you already have!

So have I convinced you? Let’s get started with this easy tote bag sewing tutorial!

Materials:

• 75 x 75 cm (30 x 30″) square of fabric (cut from a sheet or other fabric source)
• 20 x 25 cm (7 ¾ x 10″) piece of fabric for the pocket (optional)
• 16 cm (6 ¼”) long zipper, measured between zip stops, for pocket (optional)
• Iron
• Measuring, cutting and sewing supplies

Cutting the fabric:

1.Iron the fabric and cut a 75 x 75 cm (30 x 30″) square.

You can do this however you want, but for me the easiest way was to cut a piece of my sheet slightly larger than necessary then fold it once in one direction and another time in the other direction (for four layers total). Then, using a rotary cutter*, quilting ruler*, and cutting mat*, cut one half the total length (37.5 cm or 15″) from each folded edge.

Skip to step 11 if you are NOT sewing the optional zippered pocket.

2. If you want to add the optional pocket, cut another piece measuring 20 x 25 cm (7 ¾ x 10″), but not from the original square!

Sewing the optional zipped pocket:

3. Cut across 4 cm down from the top of the pocket fabric piece, as shown above.

4. If your fabric frays, sew each side of the cut from step 3 with a zig zag or overlock stitch.

5. Sew the zipper onto the pocket fabric. To do this, flip the zipper wrong side up, line up the edge with the top zig zagged/overlocked fabric edge, pin and sew with a zipper foot (top). Then line up the other edge of the zipper, still wrong side up (with the top pocket fabric pulled out of the way), with the bottom zig zagged/overlocked fabric edge, pin and sew with a zipper foot (bottom).

If you have limited experience with zippers, read my sewing lesson on how to sew an exposed zipper.

6. Iron the fabric back from the zipper teeth and topstitch down each side (shown by the arrows).

Here come the first French seams of this project!

7. Fold the pocket in half, wrong sides facing, lining up the short ends. Sew down the two sides 1 cm (3/8″) from the edge.

8. Trim the seam allowances close to the stitching.

9. Turn the pocket wrong side out, iron flat and sew down the two sides 1 cm (3/8″) from the edge. (top)

10. Turn the pocket right side out again and iron flat. Put the pocket to the side for now.

Sewing the straps:

11. Fold the fabric square in half and again, using a rotary cutter*, quilting ruler*, and cutting mat*, cut two strips 14 cm (5½”) wide.

12. Lay one strap out flat on the ironing board, wrong side up. (#1 above)

13. Fold the strap in half lengthwise, wrong sides facing, and iron well. (#2 above)

14. Open up the fold, then fold one long edge inwards to the fold from step 13, and iron well. (#3 above)

15. Fold the other long edge inwards to the fold from step 13, and iron well. (#4 above)

16. Fold the strap in half again along the original fold from step 13, iron again, and topstitch down the open side (top).

17. Repeat with the other strap (bottom) and put them both aside for the moment.

Sewing the bag body:

18. If you prefer the short wide bag, fold the remaining fabric in half, wrong sides facing, lining up the short ends, so that the fold is at the bottom. Sew down the two sides 1 cm (3/8″) from the edges, then trim the seam allowances close to the stitching (top).

19. Turn the bag wrong side out, iron flat and sew down the two sides 1 cm (3/8″) from the edges (bottom).

20. If you prefer the long narrow bag, fold the remaining fabric in half, wrong sides facing, lining up the short ends, as shown for the wide bag. But, before sewing, ROTATE the folded fabric 90° to the right, so that the folded edge is on the left. Sew down what is NOW the open bottom and the open right side (shown with the arrows) 1 cm (3/8″) from the edge, then trim the seam allowances close to the stitching. (top)

21. Turn the bag wrong side out, iron flat and sew down the two sides 1 cm (3/8″) from the edges. (bottom)

Optional boxed corners:

22. With the bag still inside out, flatten one bottom corner so that the stitching runs right into the center of the point. Pin and stitch across 3 cm (1¼”) from the point. (top)

23. Repeat with the other bottom corner, then flip the bag right side out again if you want to make sure that it looks good.

If you have limited experience with this technique, read my sewing lesson on how to sew boxed corners.

Putting all the pieces together:

24. With the bag body inside out, fold the top opening over by 1 cm (3/8″), iron well, and then again by 3 cm (1¼”), and iron again. (top)

25. Slip the pocket (if you sewed one) about 1 cm (3/8″) under the center of the folded edge and pin. Then slip each end of one strap under the folded edge, pushed all the way in to the inner fold, on either side of the pocket, and pin. Make sure that the strap isn’t twisted. (bottom) Then slip the ends of the other strap on the other side so that they match up.

With the wide bag, the outer edge of each strap should be about 10 cm from the side edges and the inner edge of each strap about 14 cm from the side edges.

With the narrow bag, the outer edge of each strap should be about 6 cm from the side edges and the inner edge of each strap about 10 cm from the side edges.

26. Sew around the bag opening close to the folded edge. I suggest switching to a 18/110 needle to get through the various layers of fabric.

27. Turn the bag right side out and fold the straps along the stitching from step 26 so that you can lift them up out of the bag. Pin them in place (as seen above).

28. Sew across the bag opening where the straps are to keep them in place (shown by the arrows above).

And you’re done! If you have a label, sew it on and wear it with pride!

Isn’t that cute? And I promise that this bag is actually quite easy to sew, despite the many steps I gave here.

I just LOVE the proportions of this bag! The straps are just the right length and with the best spacing to wear it comfortably on your shoulder, and both the narrow and the wide bags are the right size for easy access to what your carrying. The boxed corners make it more spacious inside, too.

How many times have I run out to quickly buy a couple of things at the local market and just tossed my keys and wallet into my shopping tote, and then couldn’t find them underneath everything when I got back home? That’s why I added the zippered pocket, which is just perfect for holding a few small things inside without them getting lost inside the bag!

Do you by any chance sell handmade goods at small markets and you want to offer your buyers a cool reusable bag for what they buy? Put an iron-on sticker with your logo on the outside of the shopping tote, and you’ll be getting publicity every time the bag gets used! (Click here to find out more about these stickers that I got a chance to try out!)

I love showing off my brand! When people ask me what it is, I can proudly tell them that it’s my website and pattern shop, and give them a business card if they’re interested! (Why not keep a few inside the zippered pocket?!)

And if you have a bunch of boring white sheets like I do, they are a perfect canvas for embellishing! Try using appliqué or freezer paper stenciling like I did here!

This is part of my “Speech Bubble” appliqué and freezer paper stencil design packs that I’ve been putting together for a while and will eventually start making available. I love these!

The sky’s your limit! You can do pretty much anything with these bags! On some of them I added a contrast fabric pocket to the outside, which is great for sticking your phone or shopping list in.

What else can I say??!! I just love these bags because they’re easy to sew and there are just so many ways to customize them! Not only does our family use them for our everyday activities, but I’ve started giving them away to friends as practical “wrapping paper” for their gift. And if you already have some extra sheets you don’t use, they won’t cost you anything to make!

If you love repurposing bedsheets, make sure you check out my Evening Primrose pajama pants pattern for women or for children! (Or get both in my bargain bundle!) I’ve made quite a few of them in different lengths and styles from sheets, and wear them to bed every night!

And reusing sheets saves you time, too; this tutorial shows how to use the hemmed sheet edges as your pre-hemmed pants hems! (Incidentally, I am wearing these very PJ pants as I write this. Flannel sheets make the BEST winter pajama pants!)

This easy tote bag sewing tutorial is part of the syllabus of Cucicucicoo’s Learn to Machine Sew beginner’s sewing course! Don’t forget to share pictures of your work on Facebook or the Cucicucicoo Creations Flickr Group!

Make sure you Pin this easy tote bag sewing tutorial, because you know you’re going to want to make one- or twenty!- of these!

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