Shanghai Tote

i got this fabric a while back and thought it was super cute but had no idea what to make with it! an old co-worker recently got in touch with me and asked for a small favor...i did her one better and not only fulfilled her favor but thought, why not make her a little tote at the same time! she was always switching her purses around and carried tote bags a lot- perfect for work, and also carrying books for school. and in her next life, i'm sure she'll be asian! she loves anything asian-inspired, so as soon as i knew i'd be seeing her, i knew instantly i had to use this fabric for her bag! i decided to call it the Shanghai Tote. i just think of Shanghai when i look at the print...with the little hut and dragon, and flowers. i used a red print on the inside of the tote for the lining. there's a small flower print on the red fabric that sort've matches the flowers on the front of the bag. i also put the embroidery part of my sewing machine to work and made little craftynatalie.com labels to stitch into bags that i've made. i'm hoping that if i keep up with the bag making and other craft making then i can get some custom labels made for all my products. these kind of totes are super easy to make because you don't need a pattern of any kind, and you're simply just cutting out 4 pieces of rectangles (outside and lining) and straps- and if you're using a bias tape maker, making the straps are even easier! the whole project took me about an hour to make!

hope you like your new bag Mitzi!