Drawstring Tote – Wholecloth

This bag was a very spontaneous make from a few of weeks ago. We eat lunch at a brunch cafe nearby, and one of the employees who works there was always so nice, and we’ve chatted a few times. Then, on one of the days we went, she said the next day would be her last day because she was going to be traveling and then going back to university.

I was a little bit sad about it, and then I had the thought that I should make her something. Since she would be traveling and then be at school, I thought maybe she’d appreciate a sturdy tote.

I had 3 meters of cotton canvas that I bought from Ikea last year, and I hadn’t made anything with it yet because it’s pretty thick. I saw someone on Instagram who had made Lander Pants with it, but I don’t think I would enjoy wearing this fabric unless maybe it was a jacket. It’s great for bag making though!

I used the Drawstring Gift Tote from Wholecloth. Last December, I made the smallest size with short handles for my kids’ teachers for Christmas, and they turned out so cute. So, this time I made the medium size and used the regular length handles.

It might seem weird to make a drawstring tote, but I’ve seen the designer, Kristi, use her drawstring gift totes as an everyday bag and thought it was cute!

The handles ended up being the most satisfying thing to sew. Don’t they look so cool? It was a hard decision deciding which colored stripes to use, so my kids helped with that. Although I just realized from the pictures that I didn’t keep the white border facing the same direction on both sizes of the bag…oh well.

The only tedious part of making this bag is the drawstrings. They are sooo long, and I really need to just have some white cord on hand for things like this. I had a mystery woven fabric on my stash, so that’s what I used. It took some deep breaths and patience to get through ironing and sewing them, but it was all worth it, because I love the side ties (shown below).

I used a cute little tag from TheCozyClubHandmade that says, “made with love and a sprinkle of magic” (shown above). I always love seeing Kristi’s drawstring bags that she uses as everyday bags, and I wondered how one would turn out. I think it turned out really cute, and I love when it’s cinched up!

I was very determined to finish this in time for the next day, and I think I finished it right after my kids went to bed the same day. Whew. I really liked sewing this fabric, though, and I think I’m going to make a bigger tote for myself for our library trips. I was thinking I might use the large size of the Freya Tote, but we’ll see.

Thank you for reading and happy sewing! xoxo

Sharing Joy:
Yesterday, I was looking at the vent above my stove and realized that there was a little lever to make the metal filter come off completely. While that was a good realization to have…we’ve lived here for 3 years and that vent was absolutely discussing. I tried running it through the dishwasher, but that was unsuccessful. So, I consulted the Google and found that a whole lot of dish soap, baking soda, and boiling water was the answer. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a container long enough to lay the filter flat, so I had to boil many, many kettles of boiling water to get my container full enough and soak it half at a time. But it worked!!

After soaking each end for about an hour the grease was finally dissolving, and my filter was quite literally sparkling. Then I ran it through the dishwasher one more time on high heat for good measure. It feels like a miracle that I didn’t have to throw it away and go buy a new one! Also, I’m sorry that now you’re thinking about the vent above your stove…but have you looked at it in a while?