Mouthy Stitches 2 Tote, a Success Story

If you are tired of seeing my Mouthy Stitches Tote then just skip to the bottom of this post for another project or two. I am so pleased with the way this turned out I thought I would share it one more time and tell you how I decided to make this pattern

After perusing my secret partner's mosaic I knew she would love these colors and prints, but I was not sure how to incorporate her inspirations into a tote.

Then I remembered this quilt that Katy made {I am still working on my version of Orange Soda}, and I thought my partner might like a smaller version of this pattern.

made by Katy Jones

I cut the fabrics into 3" strips and sewed them together in groups of three and then cut the strips into 3" strips and sewed them all together to make a patchwork piece 6 blocks wide and 6 blocks high.

We were instructed to follow this pattern, which would make a finished tote measuring approximately 13" x 13 1/2".

Mine is pretty close to that size, but not exact.

Then I drew a leaf shape that was 2 1/2" long and traced them on to some Steam a Seam 2 light and fused this to an aqua solid. Cut them out and then fused them to the patchwork piece. I used fusible batting and then quilted it through the leaf patterns in wavy lines and then added some random circles throughout the rest of the piece.

For the backside I just used a few of the scraps that were already sewn together to make a strip and then sewed it to some Putty colored Essex Linen, fused it to a piece of batting and quilted it with random wavy lines.

The tote is supposed to be reversible but I thought I would just use this super cute print from the new Seaside line of fabric and add a zipper pocket. I used this tutorial for the inside pocket. I don't think my partner will care that it's just plain on the inside because the print is so sweet.

There are strict rules with this swap. No extras besides a key fob. Shoot, I didn't even know what a key fob was, but it is a key ring or key chain, so I made a simple one using this tutorial.

So there you have it partner. Now I need to wait 2 more weeks to get it sent off to you.

I liked these fabrics so much that I made two quick zippy pouches to give as gifts to some friends at Sewing Summit later this week.

This one was influenced by this cute pouch that I saw on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by,

"di"