Need easy sewing project ideas? Look no further! Seamstress Angela Wolf shows you how to sew a versatile tote bag in a flash - perfect for quick trips to the market or around town. Get this pattern — ****** Grab this Robert Kaufman fabric — ****** Learn to sew simple bags — ****** Get free bag patterns on the Craftsy blog —****** Follow Craftsy --------------------------------- ****** ****** ****** ****** About Craftsy sy ------------------------------------------------- Unleash the maker in you! Join more than 10 million passionate makers on Craftsy, where you can access expert instruction, supplies, patterns, and endless inspiration to help you make more of what you love. In this video ------------------------------ I love sewing bags because I can start using them immediately! I'll show you how easy it is to make a cute bag in this short video. Hi, I'm Angela Wolf! I'm going to show you how to make a handy tote based on the Barcelona Bag pattern from Nancy Green. This bag is made of 6 pieces, the outside fabric and lining fabric, which are cut to the same size, and the fabric for the straps. So lets get started! Layer the lining pieces, with right sides together. Now layer the bag front on top of the lining, with the right sides of the fabric facing up. Then layer the bag back on top of the front, with right sides together. You now have 4 layers of fabric. There is a corner curve printed on the back of the pattern. Trace that curve, or you can draw your own, with a fabric pen at both lower corners of your fabric stack. With everything held together with a few pins, it's time to sew. To prevent the fabric from embedding in the hole in your needle plate, start with the needle just beyond the edge; back stitch and then with a ¼ inch seam allowance stitch down the sides and around the bottom curves. I'm using a contrasting thread so you can see the stitches - you would use a matching color! Then trim both bottom corner curves 1/4 inch away from your stitch line Take the top layer which is the back of the bag and flip it to the back of the stack. The outside of the bag will now show right side out, and the linings will be inside with the seam hidden. Give the bag a good pressing. The next step is the shoulder strap. This can be any length you want. I like a longer bag so my strap is 28" long. Here is a fast way to finish the strap edges! I have two strips of 1/2 inch wide pre-made bias tape cut 1 inch longer than my strap. Sandwich the lining and outside strap fabric with wrong sides together and pin the bias tape along each edge. Stitch along the edge of the bias tape about 1/8” away from the edge of the fold. Center and pin each strap on each side seam with the outside fabrics facing each other, raw edge facing up, just like this, and then stitch with a quarter inch seam allowance. To cover the raw edges pin the half-inch bias tape along the entire top edge of the bag with right sides together, making sure you are pinning through the all fabric layers. Don't forget to pin the straps when you get to each side seam! Now you can stitch all the way around the bag, using this pressed crease as your guide. Overlap at the end, backstitch and trim. Fold the bias tape towards the inside of the bag, tuck under the fold and pin. You can see this is covering up all of the raw edges and it's a great way to finish this bag! Now topstitch the bottom edge of the bias tape an eighth of an inch from the fold all the way around the bag. Then topstitch on the outside of the bag to secure the opposite edge of the tape. And our cute bag is finished just like that!