Polka Dot Tote

Several years ago, my sister and I were shopping before Christmas and we saw this Kid Rock tote bag on clearance. My mom loves Kid Rock (yuck) so we picked it up for her from my sister. Since then, she has been carrying it to her factory job everyday, carrying 6 packs of soda bottles in it and many other things! Recently, she requested a new bag since hers was looking a little worse for the wear.

Naturally, I searched around and found a great tutorial on pinterest. After many hours on this site, and cutting and sewing (and a break to make stromboli), I finally finished!

I used a heavy duck cloth that I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $4 a yard. Even though I bought a yard and a half, I only need a yard so the base of the bag only cost $4.

It has a pocket on the outside and is fully lined. The webbing for the straps cost $8!!!! It kind of makes me crazy to think that the straps cose twice as much as the bag! I decided to cover them with the matching fabric and I love how it looks!

The inside is fully lined and I would change that if I made another tote. The pockets on the inside make the sides of the tote sag and fold down. In the tutorial, the lining isn't attached at all to the sides of the tote, but I added a few stitches in each side seam to attach it better. I think I would use some stabilizer on the lining fabric and try to make sure it fits very snug inside. I think it will work fine in this bag--and it's my first time putting in a zipper!

I love the dots and inside stripes. I am very proud of this project!

All ready to go!