a pretty tote bag made with patchwork vintage linen and lace

I love a pretty patchwork bag, great as a way to use smaller scraps of pretty fabric and lovely to use to brighten up a dull trip to the supermarket! I never use a bag like this in the shops without getting at least one person tell me how much they love it and ask where I got it!

This project is my entry for this month’s Sustainable Pinterest Challenge. The Sustainable Pinterest Challenge is all about rummaging through your Pinterest boards, finding a craft project that you’d like to actually try yourself and then making it happen, with a sustainable, eco friendly twist. This month the theme is THRIFT STORE FIND. We don’t have thrift stores here in the UK but we do have A LOT of charity shops which I gather have pretty much the same sort of things available.

Stay tuned at the end of this tutorial to see all the other entries for the challenge and see what my creative friends have made from their thrift store finds.

I found a bundle of “vintage” linens and lace in one of my local charity shops a little while ago. I’ve put the word vintage in quotation marks as some of the linens, although lovely are probably not quite old enough to be classed as vintage. There was a mix of doilies, embroidered tray cloths, bundles of lace etc most quite badly stained or damaged which was why they had bundled them together and sold them off rather cheaply.

I can’t show you the whole bundle as I’ve already used a few bits and didn’t take a photo before. I am very lucky to have been given some vintage linens in the past by friends clearing out their elderly parents homes as well and so I have had quite a collection over the years.

One of my favourite things to do with old linen with damage or stains is to make patchwork table runners.

This time, for the sustainable pinterest challenge I dug out this embroidered pillow case. The embroidery is very pretty but the pillow case is pretty badly stained, years of someone’s hair products I imagine!

My original idea was to chop it straight across and keep the whole top edge but once I looked closely the stained part actually got pretty close to the embroidery. The whole pillowcase was in much worse condition that I had realised.

I ended up trimming the embroidery pretty close and the rest of the pillowcase got turned into rags.

Next I headed to Pinterest to find some inspiration of what to make with my pretty but small piece of embroidery. I ummed and ahhed about maybe making a needle book but ended up inspired by some beautiful bags I found here, here and here.

I rummaged in my scrap fabric box and found some pretty fabrics and set about making 2 pieces of patchwork to make into a pretty tote bag.

How to make a tote bag with vintage linen and lace

Materials needed to make a pretty tote bag

These are the pieces you’ll need to make a similar bag:

2 pieces of patchwork for the bag front and back: 17” x 15” (43cm x 38cm)
2 pieces of plain fabric for the bag lining: 17” x 15” (43cm x 38cm)
2 lengths of fabric for the bag handles: 21” x 3.5” ( 53cm x 9cm)
2 lengths of fabric for the bag ties: 17” x 4.5” ( 43cm x 11.5cm) * or shorter, see notes below
Pieces of Lace (optional)

Use a thin fabric for the ties ideally, it’s just easier to tie. I used an old shirt. * On reflection I think I’ll make the ties just a little shorter next time. I think 14” (36cm) or 15” (38cm) would probably be a better length

How to make tote bag handles

First make the bag handles.

Fold the strips of handle fabric in half lengthways and sew with a 1cm seam allowance to form a long thin tube. Turn right side out and press flat. Top stitch down each side. Repeat for the other handle.

How to make tote bag ties

Next make the ties.

Fold each tie in half and stitch diagonally across from one end and then down the side. Trim any excess fabric and then turn, pushing the point out carefully. Top stitch all round.

Adding lace embellishment to a tote bag

Apply any lace to the patchwork bag front and back before you sew it together. I found some lovely bits in my bundle from the charity shop.

Assembling the tote bag

Place the bag front and back right sides together and sew around leaving the top edge open.

Repeat for the bag lining but leave a 3-4 inch gap in the bottom edge of the lining.

Box the bottom by flattening the corners and stitching across. I go into how to do that in more detail in this bag tutorial if you don’t know how.

Pin the bag handles and ties in place on the bag outer. Place the handles 3” from the side seam and the ties centrally.

Turn the lining right side out and pop it into the bag outer. Line up the side seams and pin carefully all the way round. Stitch all around the top edge.

Turn the bag out through the gap you left in the lining and then stitch the gap closed. Press carefully and the top stitch round the top of the bag. This will keep everything tidy and make the handles even more secure.

A patchwork and lace tote bag hanging on a door handle

That’s it, the bag is finished. Secure the contents by tying the ties. I’ve not made tie closures like this on a tote bag before. I usually use a button and ribbon loop or a magnetic fastener. I think the ties look nice with the vintage look of the bag though, I will definitely do them again in the future.

The back of my bag is pretty too, but you could speed up your bag making by leaving that plain if you liked.

Inside the bag is nice and tidy as it’s fully lined. You could add a pocket inside if you wanted too, add that before you sew the lining pieces together.

I love my finished bag, I didn’t use an enormous amount of the original pillowcase in the end but the pretty embroidered bit is now saved and the rest of it will be used to clean the windows or the car so it’s all good.

I know lots of people add interfacings to give handmade bags structure but I actually like a floppy bag! They can fold or roll up easily and pop into your handbag/purse or the glove compartment of the car.

Now let’s check out what my creative blogging friends have done with their thrift shop finds.