Trio of Tea Towel Totes

I made some totes for my Shop the Swap shop using second hand tea towels :heart: The first two ta towels are 100% cotton and I lined them with some fabric cut from a second hand bed sheet, they feel so cozy and were fun to work with! I don’t know what kind of fabric the third one is but I had two matching towels so I could make it double sided without having to compromise the image much. :slight_smile:

Squares

Stripes

Sweets

I love making tote bags and it’s a fun challenge to mix & match fabrics to go with the tea towels and also to find a size that works with what I have.

Thanks for looking :kissing_heart:

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These are great! Nice size and the color combos are really fun!

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Such a clever idea! They look great.

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I love your tote bags! I always love to see repurposed projects. :smile:

I’m curious though about the bottom of the bag. I understand that the change in fabric is to make the bag more visibly appealing (or at least that’s how I see it), but would the seam joining the main fabric and the bottom piece weaken the bag itself? I really like the look and I’m trying to wrap my head around this process.

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I love these! They look like the perfect size for day-to-day use.

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They are each so pretty. Great fabrics & handy size too.
@Bajita I think unless you were carrying something really heavy, the size of these bags won’t put enough stress on the seams to tear them. Plus, the lining adds strength too.
For a larger bag, you could top stitch the seam allowance down to add another row of stitches & increase strength there.

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These came out fabulous! A fantastic upcycle.

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If you have enough fabric, you don’t even need a seam at the bottom. Fold it up and box it as if there were a seam. You can attach the lining around the top or leave a gap in the side. Nothing says you need to use the bottom seam as the turn around point.

@Reinikka — I love using old tea towels for totes. There are so many nice prints and the fabric is sturdy and very washable! Love these!

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@Bajita Thanks for asking :slight_smile: I’ve never had a problem with the seams between the bottom and top of the bags I’ve made in the past. Like @Magpie says, the lining adds strength. I use my serger/overlock on the seams and re-enforce with an extra row of stitches if I’m concerned about a seam popping (I believe I did that with the second bag). They aren’t as durable as a canvas tote would be, but for light shopping and carrying they work great. I have another set that I use for farmers market, mall shopping, thrift shopping, etc and I love how I can fold/roll them and stuff them into other bags so they don’t get in my way if I don’t need them.

@AIMR I like to use a solid piece of fabric for the lining when I can and the turning point for all of these is the corner of the lining. For the one I had to use two lining pieces I re-enforced the seams before turning.

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Practical and pretty!

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Way to upcycle into something so useful!

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