Uncle Sam Tote Bag Instructions

Uncle Sam Tote Bag
To create the Uncle Sam Tote Bag, you will need the following:
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2 Pieces of Canvas cut to 17” x 20” - This is the main body of the bag
2 Pieces of Canvas cut to 9” x 20” - This is the outer pockets of the bag
2 Pieces of Canvas cut to 7.5” x 20” - This is the base of the bag
2 Pieces of Lining Fabric cut to 17” x 20” - This is for the inside of the bag
2 Pieces of Lining Fabric cut to 9” x 20” - This is to line to pockets
2 Pieces of Heavy Interfacing (such as Pellon Sew-in Heavy Weight) cut to 7.5” x 20”
Nylon or Cotton Web Belting - approx. 3 yards
Uncle Sam Appliqué
• Fabric of your choice for background (approx. 6” x 6”)
• White Cotton Fabric to use for Hat, Beard and Mustache
Step 1: Complete the Appliqué
First you will need to create your appliqué. Stitch out the design on one of the 9” x 20” pocket
panel canvas pieces. Don’t forget to attach the Mustache to your appliqué.
Step 2 - Assembling the Tote
• Once you have completed that appliqué, you should have the following pieces and are ready
to assemble the tote.
Note: In this picture, I have already sewn the outer pockets panels to their linings. Also, I have finished off the top
each of the side pocket panels with bias tape. This is optional.
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Uncle Sam Tote Bag
• Attach the outer pockets to their linings.
• Take the pocket panel on which you stitched out the appliqué (9” x 20”) and one of your
pocket lining pieces (9” x 20”), place them right sides together and sew along the top edge.
A seam allowance of 1” is used throughout this project unless otherwise noted.
• Repeat for the other pocket panel.
• Press all seams.
• Next, attach your side pocket panels to your base panels (in the all of the photos in the
tutorial, the base panels are the blue diamond patterned pieces).
• As you join the base panels to the side pocket panels, you will also be attaching the heavyweight interfacing. Place the side pocket panel (which has the lining attached) and the base
panel with the interfacing (which is not yet attached) right sides together. Sew along the
bottom of the side pocket panel.
• Press all seams open.
• Should you choose to do so, the seam allowance can be used to create a flat felled seam on
each side. This provides a nice decorative touch to the outside of the bag and also creates
a clean finished seam at the bottom of the pocket once the bag is complete. Again, this step
is optional.
• Your panels should look similar to this:
In the photo above, the side pocket panel (and lining) have been sewn to the base panel and interfacing. The heavyweight interfacing can see seen around the edges of the diamond pattern base panel.
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Uncle Sam Tote Bag
• Next, you will attach your side/base panels (which now should measure 13.5” x 20”) to the
panels which make up the main body of the tote. You will also be attaching the handles of
your tote during this step.
• Lay one of your 17” x 20” main panels right-side up on your work surface. Place one of your
side/base panels right-side up on top of the main tote panel, aligning the bottom and sides of
the bag. Pin in place.
• Join the two panels using the stitch-in-the-ditch method along the seam created when you
joined the side pocket and base panels.
• Next, take one piece of your nylon/cotton webbing (I used a length of 46” on my bags, but
you can adjust to your desired length). Measure in approximately 6” from each side of the
bag. This will be the outer edge of each strap. Fold back approx. 1” of the webbing and pin
to the bag along the mark and the seam of the base/pocket panel (see photo below). Pin the
webbing so that it extends from the seam line to the top of the tote. Repeat on the other
side, making sure not to twist your handle. When you have the webbing pinned out, it should
look like this:
You could also embed the handles in the seams created when you join the base panel to the side pocket panel.
Since this would create additional bulk, I chose to use the method described above.
• Stitch down the webbing through all layers of the bag (not only does this complete the
process of joining the side pocket panel to the main body of the tote, it also creates the
separations in the pockets).
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Uncle Sam Tote Bag
• Next, you will join your lining fabric for the inside of the tote to the outer panels. For each
half of the tote, place the completed half of the bag and one piece of the lining fabric on top
of each other with right-sides together. Sew along the top of the bag. Press your seams
open.
• You are now ready to put your bag together. Lay your two completed halves of the tote so
that the right sides are facing one another. Pin in place. Sew around all four sides (make
sure you don’t catch your handle in any of your seams!), leaving approx. 5” of the bottom of
the inner lining panel un-sewn. You will need this to turn the bag right side out.
• The next step is to create the boxed corners. From each of the 4 corners, you will cut a
square. For the example bag, I removed a 3.5” square, but you can adjust this to your
liking. The larger the square, the wider the base of you bag and vice a versa. Here’s what it
should look like:
Note: In the example, I have surged all of the raw edges of the tote pieces. This is not a required step, but it does
help prevent raveling of the canvas.
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Uncle Sam Tote Bag
• To finish the corners, open the squares you just cut out and match the seams (see the
following photo). Pin the seam and sew. A seam allowance of 1/4” should be enough here
and if you have a serger, this is a great place to use it! Repeat this step for all four corners.
To lessen the bulk, you may want to grade your seam allowance before pinning and sewing,
especially on the base of the tote.
To make this process a little easier, grade your seams. This reduces the bulk and will make it easier to pin and sew!
• Using the hole you left in the lining fabric, turn the entire tote right-side out and press.
• Using whatever method you are comfortable with, sew the hole in the lining.
• Top stitch around the top edge of the tote to help keep the lining in place. That’s it!
Enjoy your new tote!
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