It’s been pretty quiet this year on my blog, but it hasn’t been quiet in my sewing room! The year has gotten away from me somehow – planning a wedding does that to you! Now the wedding is over I’ve had some more time to devote to my sewing room (and my blog) and wanted to share probably my most used make of all time with you … my oversized silver tote!
I got this amazing silver pleather for the grand price of 9 Euros/m! That’s a bargain if you ask me! I also bought it in gold and navy blue – it’s really good quality and looks very close to the real deal. We have an amazing fabric shop in Frankfurt just called ‘Stoffe’ (fabrics) which is a real treasure trove. They buy remnants from big manufacturers and you can find some pretty good bargains there. The service is really friendly too!
This bag was a self draft – my old accessorize tote with handy front pockets had died and I was dismayed to find there weren’t many with front pockets on the market. After much hunting I did find one … with a tasty 100 Euro price tag!! I decided surely I could make one cheaper than that – it’s just a tote bag with pockets after all?!
I mainly use a tote when I want to carry a whole load of stuff – my work notebook, my kindle, my cardigan, an umbrella for the ever changing Frankfurt summer weather so I went for it and made this guy big! It probably turned out a bit bigger than I really needed, but have come to love it’s over-sized proportions. I really enjoyed the challenge of working this out as I went along – this was a rare project where I really took my time as I was so keen for it to work out well! Also I really didn’t want to have to unpick anything and leave nasty puncture marks on my pleather.
I’m glad I did – I’ve used this tote for the whole summer now. It’s been to work, it’s been traveling, it came with me on my honeymoon! There’s nothing it can’t do! And it turns out metallics are a winner – they really do go with everything!
The inside of this bag is lined with some gorgeous fat quarters that a friend brought back for me from the states. They have a silver geometric print on them which goes so well with the outside of the bag! The pockets are lined with them too! I love it when you dig something out of your stash and it’s the perfect accompaniment for your project!
My only regret with this bag is not adding in a magnetic closure at the top or maybe even being bold enough to add a zipper to the top. I will definitely do that on my next one – I’m already planning a navy blue version for use in the winter!
I also made this cute little clutch for my friend to use as her bridal clutch from the remnants of the silver pleather. What do you think?
I’ve always had a bit of a love for buying bags so knowing I can make my own is a real treat! I see my bag collection expanding ….
Amy's Atelier 