Pleated Tote Bag

Most of my sewing projects revolve around making clothes, but I decided I wanted to make a bag. I’d never made a tote bag before but it didn’t look hard. There were tons of bag tutorials online from the very simple to the more complicated. Mostly I looked at the basic construction of the bags (which were often similar from tutorial to tutorial). Instead of picking a bag design from one of the many, I decided to just design my own.

I didn’t want to make a complicated bag, but I didn’t want to make the bare minimum simple tote bag either. So I decided to add pleats to my bag. I love pleats; they’re a simple design element that adds visual interest (to just about anything).

I used a two-tone canvas as my main fabric. I wanted a fairly neutral colored bag, and this was a heavier basic fabric I happened to have in my fabric stash. On the inside of the bag, I wanted to use a different fabric with a bit more personality, so I chose a Japanese pattern for the bottom section of the bag.

As with everything I sew, it’s not perfect. I can see the flaws, but it’s serviceable. I like my bag; it’s simple but I don’t think it’s boring.