Life is lovely: monogram mini tote tutorial

Feb 20, 2012

monogram mini tote tutorial

so going to church usually consisted of me carrying a bag with MY books and young womens stuff, a diaper bag, and my KID'S bag with snacks, coloring books, toys etc. so i decided to make new sunday/ church/quiet/busy bags for my kids, whatever you call them. this is what i came up with...
they are great! they carry all their necessities, and are small enough that they can carry them THEMSELVES! plus they are cute:) they could also double as a travel bag for those long trips in the car!

you will need:

blank tote bag {plain canvas 4-pack from hobby lobby, 11"x 8.5" x 3", $4.47 after 40% off coupon!}

letter stencil {you can make your own, but i found these from happy together}

water soluble pen

fabric {let your kids choose to make it more personal, this is a great way to use up scraps!}

wonder-under

iron

sewing machine

{STEP 1}

cut out stencil

{STEP 2}

take fabric, and using stencil, trace the letter onto the RIGHT side of the fabric, but DON'T cut it out yet! leave excess around the edge of the letter.

{STEP 3}

take wonder-under {found at any fabric store; walmart, hobby lobby; it's on a bolt usually} and cut out a same size piece as your fabric so they stack up perfectly.

*CAREFUL! the wonder-under adheres to your fabric to make it sturdier and help it stay in place as you stitch. you don't want any excess wonder-under sticking out around the edges of your fabric or when you go to iron them together it will adhere to your iron!

{STEP 4}

iron the wonder-under ROUGH side together with the BACK of fabric. RIGHT side fabric with the traced letter should be facing YOU on the top:) *make sure to read directions specific to your wonder-under for how long to hold the iron on it and what heat settings to use.

{STEP 5}

using scissors, cut out the letter

{STEP 6}

peel off back of wonder-under. it should be paper you are peeling off and the webbing like adhesive should stay on the back of the fabric. if the webbing is peeling off with the paper, try the iron again for a little longer.

{STEP 7}

take your bag and carefully place the letter on the bag where you want it, and then iron the letter onto the bag.

{STEP 8}

using your sewing machine, stitch around your letter about 1/8" in from the edge. this gives it a clean finished look and adds to the durability. GO SLOW to ensure precision.