susuwatari tote

a sewing pattern by

2 sew desu ne?| www.cholyknight.com |

susuwatari totesewing tutorial

susuwatari tote

difficulty:

before you begin:

makes:

materials & tools• 5”x5”scrapofwhiteappliqué

fabric(cottonorfelt)• 2”x2”scrapofblackappliqué

fabric(cottonorfelt)• 10”x10”pieceoflightorheavy

dutyfusibleweb• Matchingsewingthread• Basicsewingtools(sewingmachine,

scissors,iron,needles,pins,fabricmarker,seamripper)

• ½yd.ofmediumtoheavyweightfabricformainbag(denimorcanvaswouldbegreat–Iusedahomedécorcanvas)

• ½yd.ofmediumtoheavyweightcontrastfabricforbottomsectionandhandles(denimorcanvaswouldbeperfect–Iusedaninterfacedfauxsuede)

• 2/3yd.oflightweightfabricforlining(Iusedquiltingcotton)

• Eithervariousfabricpaintsforpaintingyourimageor:

• Appliquésupplies:• 10”x10”scrapofappliquéfabric

forsprites(cottonorfelt)

onebagthatisabout17”wide,17”tall,and4”deep

Thisissupersimpletoputtogether.Thehandlesareabittricky,butthat’slikelythehardestpartyou’llface.

Thisprojectissimplyalargetotebagwithacontrastbottomanddetailedhandles,buttheinspirationwastodecorateitwiththesusuwa-tari(sootsprite)charactersfromMyNeighborTotoro&SpiritedAway.Addingthemiscompletelyoptionalofcourse.

4. Markthefabricpieceswiththeguide-linesfromthepattern

1. Printouttheprojectpattern,pages8-16

2. Assembletheprintedpatternpieces3. Layoutthepatternpiecesonyour

fabricandcutthemout

3 sew desu ne?| www.cholyknight.com |

susuwatari totesewing tutorial

Startbyapplyingyoursootspritestothefrontofthebag.Thisinvolvesalotof

sewing,soyoumaywantusethepatternasafreezer

papertemplateandpaintthespritesonwithfabricpaint,orsimplyironthemonwithheavydutyfusibleweb.Eitherway,usetheguidelinesfromthepatterntogettherightplacement.Ichosetogothehardrouteandironedthemonwithlightfusibleweb,thendidazigzagstitcharoundeachsprite.

Withyourappliquéfinished,nextyoucanapplythebottomcontrastsectionto

yourbag.Lineupthelongstraightedgeofyourcontrast

sectiontothebottomedgeofyourbag,thensewthetwoinplace.Openouttheseamallow-anceandpressitflat.Repeatthiswithyourbagbackpieceandtheothercontrastsection.

2

1

4

susuwatari totesewing tutorial

sew desu ne?| www.cholyknight.com |

Nextwe’llsewthesidesandbottomofthetote.Layeryourbagfrontandbackwithrightsidestogether,andsewalongthesideandbottomedges,skippingoverthecorners(we’llsewthosenext).

Foldthecornersofthetotebagatananglesothesideseamsandbottomseamsmatchup.Therawedgesshouldlineupnicely,andyoucannowsewalongthisedgetogivesomedepthtoyourbag.Nowyou’llwanttogobackandrepeatsteps2-4foryourliningpieces,exceptremembertoleaveanopeninginthebottomoftheliningforturningitrightsideout.Afterthisisalldoneyoushouldhavetwotote-bagshapedpieces.

4

3

5 sew desu ne?| www.cholyknight.com |

susuwatari totesewing tutorial

Nextwe’llsewtogetherthosepieces.Nestlethetotebagintoyourlining

withrightsidestogetherandmatchuptherawedges

alongthetop.Thesideseamsshouldmatchupforthebestlook.Sewallthewayaroundtheperimeter.

Turnthetoterightsideoutfromtheopeninginthelining,thenpressthetop

seamyoujustmadeniceandcrisp.Edgestitchalong

thisseamtokeepyourliningfrompeekingoutofthebag.Themainbodyofyourtotebagisnowcomplete!Nextarethestraps.

6

5

6

susuwatari totesewing tutorial

sew desu ne?| www.cholyknight.com |

Foryourstraps,you’llwanttotakeoneofyourstrappiecesandfolditinhalfalongthefoldlineindicated.Sewalongtheperimeteroftheshape,beingsuretoskipovertheopeninginthesideforturningthestraprightsideout.Trimtheseamallowancesinthecurvedpartstomaketurningeasier,andbesuretoclipverycloselyintothecornerofthehandletoachieveareallycrisplook.Thenturnthestraprightsideoutwithachopstickorsimilartool,tuckundertheseamallowancesintheopening,thenpressthewholestrapfirmlysotheresultiscrisp.

Togetarealprofessionallook,we’regoingtoedgestitcharoundtheperimeterofthestraps,about1/8”orlessinsidetheedge.Thiswillalsocloseuptheopeningyouleftfromthepreviousstep.

8

7

7 sew desu ne?| www.cholyknight.com |

susuwatari totesewing tutorial

Lineuptheendsofyourstraptothefrontofyourbag,usingthepattern

guidelinesforproperplace-ment.Thenedgestitchthe

endsofthestrapagaintoholditinplace.Stitchbothendsofonestraponthefront,thenbothendsoftheotherstrapontheback,butbesureyoudon’ttwistthestrapalongtheway.NowfillyourtotewithawesomestuffbecauseYOU’REDONE!

9

Susu

wat

ari T

ote

PA

TT

ER

Nwww.cho

lykn

ight

.com

MAIN

BAG &

LIN

ING

Cut

2 fro

m m

ain fab

ricCut

2 fro

m linin

g fa

bric

5/8”

sea

m a

llow

ance

han

dle p

lace

men

t

Pg. 1/9

Pg. 4/9

A1 A2

B1B2

appliq

ue

place

men

t

Pg. 2/9Pg. 1/9

Pg. 5/9Pg. 4/9

A1 A2

B3B4

A3 A4

Susu

wat

ari T

ote

PA

TT

ER

Nwww.cho

lykn

ight

.com

TOTE B

OTTO

MCut

2 fro

m c

ontr

ast

fabric

Cut

2 fro

m linin

g fa

bric

5/8”

sea

m a

llow

ance

Pg. 2/9 Pg. 3/9

Pg. 5/9 Pg. 6/9

B5B6

A3 A4

han

dle p

lace

men

t

Pg. 4/9

Pg. 7/9

B1B2

D1D

2C1 C2

Pg. 5/9Pg. 4/9

Pg. 8/9Pg. 7/9

B3B4

D3

D4

C1 C2

C3 C4

SUSUWATARI APPLIQUECut 3

PUPIL APPLIQUECut 6 of black

EYE APPLIQUECut 6 of white

open

ing

for tu

rnin

g (linin

g on

ly)

Pg. 5/9 Pg. 6/9

Pg. 8/9 Pg. 9/9

B5B6

D5D

6

C3 C4

Susuwatari ToteP A T T E R N

www.cholyknight.com

STRAPSCut 2 from contrast fabric

3/8” seam allowance

Pg. 7/9

D1D

2E1 E2

Susuwatari ToteP A T T E R N

www.cholyknight.com

STRAPSCut 2 from contrast fabric

3/8” seam allowance

opening for turning

foldline

Pg. 8/9Pg. 7/9

D3

D4

E1 E2

E3 E4

foldline

Pg. 8/9 Pg. 9/9

D5D

6

E3 E4