my Sirena market tote
I've been a fan of Jessica Swift and her work for a long time. I'm still regretting that I didn't get a pair of her rain boots when they were available. I love her patterns, color combos, and playful designs. So one day when I was scrolling through Instagram, I saw this:
"You guys! I'm looking for some folks who'd like to get creative and sew a summer tote bag with my brand new fabric line, Sirena, with @artgalleryfabrics. Does this sound like you? I hope so! If you're interested in learning more, please send me an email or a DM (email address is in profile). I'd love to connect with some talented new makers that I may not know yet (and those that I do already know, of course!) and get some Sirena fabrics into your hands so you can create some truly beautiful and useful bags. Can't wait to hear from you!"
And I guess I was feeling brave, because I emailed her and told her I'd love to make a tote with her fabrics. You can see all of her new Sirena fabrics here. I sent her some pics to some of my handmade pouches and this mock up of what I had in mind (I loosely followed this market tote tutorial by Bijou Lovely):
I got an email a few days later and was so excited to find out that I was chosen to be among the first ones to get to sew up a tote using Jessica's new fabrics!
It was fun picking out which fabrics I wanted to use, and even more fun when the package came in the mail! I was excited to get to work. I had planned to use a canvas for the bottom of the tote, but ended up deciding on Kraftex instead. I love the sturdiness of it, and realized the canvas was much more susceptible to getting/ looking dirty.
I also decided to add a ruffle to the top, between the lining and the outer piece. I'm so happy with how this tote turned out. It's roomier than I expected, it's nice and sturdy, and I love these fabrics!
Shout out to my husband and his awesome iPhone camera for these photos. I haven't upgraded in a while, so I'm always borrowing his phone or asking him to take pics for me.
The Summer Tote Challenge is going all summer. Head over to pick out some of these vibrant fabrics and make one of your own!
