BurdaStyle

This tote is made from my own very basic pattern. All it uses are two rectangles, sewn together with the bottoms stitched and clipped to give you whatever depth you want on the bag. Its a great beginner style purse because there is no pleating, darting or complicated shaping.

I have at least three projects listed that all use this pattern but with very different fabrics and very different styles so do have a look.

With a bag shape that is this simple its always best to go all out on your fabric and decorations. I always choose very heavy fabric for this style, just to give it a little more oomph! Try tweed skirts, men’s suit jackets or heavy trousers. They all work great. This purse is made from a throw i found in a thrift store.

For the embellishment i made a huge bow from cream corduroy and stitched it on. These bows are my own pattern and add a touch of cuteness to anything they appear on. Sometimes i add a brooch back to the bow so it can be removed from the bag and worn on the back of a dress or coat.

This was one of the first bags i ever made and looking back now i would probably change a lot.. But it is a great beginner shape to try and make yourself and once you use nice heavy fabric and good decoration it wont look like one of the thousands of flimsy ‘pillowcase style’ beginner totes you see patterns for online.