tiny totoro tote

a sewing pattern by

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tiny totoro totesewing tutorial

tiny totoro tote

difficulty:

before you begin:

makes:

materials & tools• 10”x10”pieceoflightorheavy

dutyfusibleweb• Matchingsewingthread• Basicsewingtools(sewingmachine,

scissors,iron,needles,pins,fabricmarker,seamripper)

• ½yd.of60”wideor2/3yd.of45”widemediumtoheavyweightfabric(denimorcanvaswouldbeperfect–Iusedahomedécorcanvas)

• ¼yd.ofmediumtoheavyweightcontrastfabricforcorners(denimorcanvaswouldbeperfect–Iusedhomedécorfauxsuede)

• ½yd.oflightweightfabricforlining(Iusedquiltingcotton)

• Appliquésupplies:• 10”x10”scrapofwhiteappliqué

fabric(cottonorfelt)forbodies&eyes

• 2”x2”scrapofblackappliquéfabric(cottonorfelt)forpupils

onebagthatisabout11”wide,11”tall,and3”deep

Theappliquémightnotbeforacompletebeginner,butasidefromthatthere’snothingtoosurprisinghere

Thissimpletotewasinspiredbythechibi-TotorothatturninupthemovieMyNeighborTotoro.Theappliqueisoptional,butonitsownit’sagreattoteforaquicktriptothestoreandhasnicecontrastcornerpatches.

4. Markthefabricpieceswiththeguide-linesfromthepattern

1. Printouttheprojectpattern,pages8-13

2. Assembletheprintedpatternpieces3. Layoutthepatternpiecesonyour

fabricandcutthemout

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tiny totoro totesewing tutorial

Thefirststepismakingthecornerpatchesforyourbag:)Layeroneofyour

cornerpatcheswithacorre-spondingliningpiece,thensew

themtogetheralongthecurvededge.Trimtheseamallowancessoyourcurveturnsmorecleanly,thenturnthecornerrightsideoutandpressitfirmly.Repeatthiswiththeotherthreecornerpieces.

Toachievethepatchlookonyourbag,alignyourcornerpatchagainst

thecornerofyourbagfront.Youshouldbeableto

matchthemupagainsttheangledshapeatthecorner.Thensewthepatchinplacebyedgestitchingalongthecurvededgewhereyoujustmadethepreviousseam.Repeatthiswiththeotherthreecornerpatchesandtheotherbottomcornersofyourbagforboththefrontandtheback.

2

1

4

tiny totoro totesewing tutorial

sew desu ne?| www.cholyknight.com |

Nowontotheappliqué!Youhavethechoiceofapplyingheavydutyfusiblewebtoyourappliquéfabrics,thenironingthepieceson.Oryoucanapplylightweightfusiblewebandsewthepieceson.Usethepatternguidelineforplacementhelp,andapplythepiecesonthesidethatyouwanttobethefront.Iperson-allysewedmypiecesonwithazigzagstitch.

Oncetheappliquéisdone,youcanstarttoseeyourbagcometogether!Layeryourbagfrontoverthebagbackwithrightsidesfacing,thensewthemtogetheralongthesidesandbottomedges.Skipoverthecornersaswe’llbesewingthosenext.

4

3

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tiny totoro totesewing tutorial

Foldthecornersatanangletomakethebottomandsideseamsmatchup.

You’llbeleftwithanicestraightrawedge.Sewdown

thatedgetocreatesomedepthforyourbag.Repeatthiswiththeothercornerandyourbagisreallystartingtotakeshape!Atthistimeyou’llwanttogobackandrepeatsteps4&5withyourliningpiecesaswell.Besureduringstep4toskipovertheopeningindicatedbythepatternguidelineforturningthebagrightsideout.

Beforewecanfinishthingsup,weneedtomakethestraps.Takeyourstrap

piecesandfoldunderthelongedgesby⅝”each.Iron

thefoldsinplace.Thenfoldtheentirestrapinhalflengthwisesothefoldededgesmeetandironthatinplaceaswell.Finishthestrapbysewingthesefoldededgestogetherwithanedgestitch.

6

5

6

tiny totoro totesewing tutorial

sew desu ne?| www.cholyknight.com |

Toattachthestrapstoyourbagyou’llneedtobastetheminplacefirst.Takeonerawendofyourstrapandlineitupagainstthetopedgeofyourbag,centeringitwithinthepatternguidelines.Basteitinplacebysewingitwithintheseamallowances.Taketheotherendofthesamestrapandlineitupontheothersetofpatternguidelinesfromthesamesideofthebag.Bastethatendinplaceaswellinthesamemanner,beingsurethatthestrapisn’ttwistedwhenyoudoso.Repeatthiswiththebackofyourbaginthesamewayandyourstrapsarenowneatlyinplace!

Toaddyourliningtothebag,nestleyourmainbagintotheliningpiecewithrightsidesfacingeachother.Lineupthetopedge,makingsurethestrapsarestickingdownintothebag.Sewaroundtheperimeterofthistopedge.

8

7

7 sew desu ne?| www.cholyknight.com |

tiny totoro totesewing tutorial

Turnthebagrightsideoutfromtheopeninginthelining,thenpressthe

topseamniceandcrisp.Foraniceprofessionallook,

edgestitchclosetothatfinishedseam,about1/8”awayfromtheedge.NowgotryonyourbagbecauseYOU’REDONE!

9

Tiny

Tot

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Tote

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TOTE F

RO

NT &

BACK

Cut

2 fro

m m

ain fab

ricCut

2 fro

m linin

g fa

bric

5/8”

sea

m a

llow

ance

stra

p

place

men

t

A1 A2

A3 A4

C1 C2

C3 C4

B1B2

B3B4

B5B6

Pg. 1/6 Pg. 2/6 Pg. 3/6

Pg. 4/6 Pg. 5/6 Pg. 6/6

appliq

ue

place

men

t

open

ing

for tu

rnin

g (linin

g on

ly)

A1 A2

A3 A4

C1 C2

C3 C4

B1B2

B3B4

B5B6

Pg. 1/6 Pg. 2/6 Pg. 3/6

Pg. 4/6 Pg. 5/6 Pg. 6/6

Tiny Totoro ToteP A T T E R N

www.cholyknight.com

TOTE CORNERSCut 4 from contrast fabric

Cut 4 from lining fabric5/8” seam allowance

TOTORO A APPLIQUECut 1 of white

TOTORO A PUPIL APPLIQUECut 2 of black

TOTORO A EYE APPLIQUECut 2 of white

A1 A2

A3 A4

C1 C2

C3 C4

B1B2

B3B4

B5B6

Pg. 1/6 Pg. 2/6 Pg. 3/6

Pg. 4/6 Pg. 5/6 Pg. 6/6

Tiny Totoro ToteP A T T E R N

www.cholyknight.com

STRAPSCut 2 from main fabric5/8” seam allowance

stra

p

place

men

t

A1 A2

A3 A4

C1 C2

C3 C4

B1B2

B3B4

B5B6

Pg. 1/6 Pg. 2/6 Pg. 3/6

Pg. 4/6 Pg. 5/6 Pg. 6/6

TOTORO B PUPIL APPLIQUECut 2 of black

TOTORO B EYE APPLIQUECut 2 of white

A1 A2

A3 A4

C1 C2

C3 C4

B1B2

B3B4

B5B6

Pg. 1/6 Pg. 2/6 Pg. 3/6

Pg. 4/6 Pg. 5/6 Pg. 6/6

TOTORO B APPLIQUECut 1 of white

TOTORO B PUPIL APPLIQUECut 2 of black

TOTORO B EYE APPLIQUECut 2 of white

A1 A2

A3 A4

C1 C2

C3 C4

B1B2

B3B4

B5B6

Pg. 1/6 Pg. 2/6 Pg. 3/6

Pg. 4/6 Pg. 5/6 Pg. 6/6