I made this bag as a gift for my Mum, she uses a fabric bag all the time and her favourite "Elephant Bag" (because it has elephants on it, naturally) has been worn to death. There is something of a quest going on to find the right replacement for the Elephant Bag. I have thrown my hat in the ring with this as a contender.
I used twill cotton, bought on eBay from Favourite Fabrics. I used about half a meter for the bag and same for the contrast.
I used the dimensions from a couple of existing bags that I have. The blue is cut 71cm long and it wraps around the bottom so there is no seam at the base. The contrast and straps, co-incidentally, are also 71cms long. Contrast is 14cm tall, straps are 7cm wide.
I made the blue lower part first, I used French seams for the side seams. Then cut the white fabric to match the dimensions and sewed it in a loop. I attached it to the blue with a flat felled seam. My first ever! It wasn't too bad, but my machine, and the straightness of my seam struggled with all that thickness of fabric. But I like the extra strength, and the fact that there are no raw edges anywhere on this bag.
I love the little crosses where the straps attach to the bag. I feel like it makes it look just like a "real" bag!
Total cost: £6.33. This is quite a bit more than you expect to pay for a fabric tote in a store, but I think it looks more like a handbag than a shopping bag.
The real question is: will the Elephant Bag finally be consigned to the scrap bag in the sky?
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