How to Make a Tea Towel Tote
Looking for a unique gift to give someone special (or maybe a special gift for yourself)?
Turning a tea towel or hand towel into a cute tote is easier than you think!
One can never have too many tote bags….
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE me a good tote bag!
Some people like to collect purses. Others like to collect shoes. I like to collect tote bags!
I find the uses for them to be endless. From shopping bags to beach bags to handbags and everything in-between.
It’s not just me. With the majority of the population looking to reduce their plastic consumption, tote bags are blazing their way into the hands of consumers looking to save the planet.
Stores are offering their own branded versions of reusable bags (even though most are made of plastic materials). They often come with unique designs or sayings that are marketed towards their target audience (I’m looking at you Joann Fabrics).
While I do purchase some of these bags out of pure convenience, I am trying to make a supply of my own reusable bags for use in my everyday life.
And not to tute my own horn, but I’m getting pretty good at making my own!
Now I know that all the materials I use are not exactly eco-friendly, but you can reproduce these bags with materials that are 100% biodegradable. I just happened to have the materials in my fabric stash and I wanted to use them instead of throwing them away.
That being said, these simple tote bags are a breeze to make and can be made from ANY fabric! In fact, I picked up tea towels (or decorative hand towels) from the Dollar Tree and turned them into a few different styles of reusable bags.
Once you learn how tote bags are constructed, you will find yourself making more bags than you know what to do with. But don’t worry! They make great gifts!
Let me show you how I made them!
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List of Supplies:
Makes: 1 Small-Medium sized tote bag
Estimated Time: 20-45 minutes per bag
Sewing skills needed/used: Straight stitch, boxed corners, grommet installation, topstitching
Skill Level: Beginner-Intermediate
For this tutorial, I will use the dimensions I drafted my bags out of. You can alter the amounts depending on the size of your tea towel (or hand towel).
1 Tea towel (or decorative hand towel)
Lining fabric measuring 16” x 16”
Outer bottom fabric measuring 10” x 16” (this should be a more durable fabric like canvas, duck canvas, faux leather, etc)
Interfacing of your choice in the same amount as your tea towel (I used lightweight fusible interfacing)
2 1/2 yards of Cording (I used drapery cording)
Sewing Machine
Ruler
Pinking shears (optional)
Fabric pins or clips
Grommet kit (4 grommets will be used)
X-Acto knife (optional)
Fabric pen
Hammer
How to Make Tea Towel Tote Bags
Step 1:
Gather the supplies.
Step 2:
Unpick the hems on the towel and press the hems flat.
*This step is optional. If you have a small tea towel (like I did) you will get another 1” - 1 1/2” of material from unrolling the hems.
This allowed me to utilize the whole towel and the original hem was used as my seam allowance after the material was squared and cut to size.
Here is the hem that I removed. It was folded over twice and I was able to utilize that space for trimming and seam allowance.
Step 3:
Cut the tea towel to size and cut the interfacing to match.
To do this, I measured the length of my towel, divided by two, and cut my towel in half. Then, I laid my pieces on top of each other, measured the width, and trimmed each side accordingly.
My finished measurements were 12” x 16”.
Iron the interfacing to the WRONG sides of the towels.
I used lightweight fusible interfacing for this project.
Step 4:
Cut your outer bottom fabric to size.
To do this, I folded my fabric in half and cut out 10” x 16”.
*I cut the price on the fold and intend to keep the fold in place. There are other ways to box out the bottom of a bag like I did in my Fabric Gift bags.
Step 5:
Sew the outer bottom fabric to the outer top fabric.
To do this, place both pieces of fabric with the RIGHT sides together and stitch together using a 1/4” seam allowance.
Step 6:
Press the seam allowance to the top of the bag and then topstitch the allowance down.
To do this, I used a 1/8” seam allowance to secure the seam allowance underneath.
*Not only does this help reinforce the seam, but it provides the bag with a professional appearance.
Step 7:
With RIGHT sides together, line up the seams and stitch the side seams together using a 1/4” seam allowance.
To do this, I matched up the seam line where the bottom fabric meets the top fabric. Once that pin was in place, I pinned along the rest of the side seam.
Step 8:
Measure out and stitch the box corners.
To do this, I hand-pressed the fold at the base of the bottom fabric to create a ‘seam’ line for me to work with. Then, I reached in and opened the bag so that the side seam and the hand-pressed seam aligned in the center. This takes a bit of finesse.**
I measured 1 1/2” down and marked it with chalk. This will become the seam.
Repeat this step for both sides.
I stitched across that line on each side.
Finally, I trimmed the corner.
Step 9:
Measure out the lining fabric, cut, and stitch up the side seams and bottom seams with the RIGHT sides facing each other, leaving a 3” gap in the bottom seam for turning.
My lining measurements were x16”.
Step 10:
Stitch the lining to the outer fabric and topstitch the top of the bag.
To do this, I placed the outer bag shell RIGHT side out inside the lining. The lining was WRONG side out. This way the RIGHT sides of the bag and longing were facing each other.
I stitched along the top of the bag using a 1/4” seam allowance. Then, I turned the bag inside out and topstitched the bag to keep the lining in place.
Step 11:
Turn the bag inside out and insert the grommets.
For step-by-step instructions on how to insert grommets, see this post.
Step 12:
Measure out and attach the straps.
To do this, I measured out two 41” strips of cording, looped it through the grommets (threading it from the inside of the bag to the outside), and secured it with a basic knot.
I removed the outer casing of the cording to give it a tasseled appearance.
That’s it!
Your Tea Towel Totes are complete!
Hot Tips…
If you want a stiffer bag, use fusible fleece versus fusible interfacing. This will help your bag stand up on its own.
Pressing your seams will only help give your bag a more professional look.
Handle length is entirely customizable. You can make longer or shorter handles depending on your taste.
If you don’t want to box your corners as shown, you can use a 1 1/2” square to cut out a box in each corner. I’ll have a tutorial about this soon!
If you use a hand towel with a long nap, then you may not need to stiffen the fabric.
Adding pockets, embroidery, or embellishments should be done before the lining is attached to the outer shell of the bag.
Things I would do differently…
The minute I saw these towels, I knew I wanted to turn them into a bag. I have plans for the second towel I picked up. I, also, plan on changing this bag in a few ways.
First, I want to personalize it.
This is the simplest way to make a bag feel unique. Adding a name or special element to the bag will only make it feel like it was destined for a person.
Personalization can come in many forms, from adding a name to adding rhinestones or a key chain. The sky is the limit on how you want to personalize your bag.
Additionally, I want to try these bags in different styles.
I love small tote bags, but I also have an affinity for other bags. Imagine this as a drawstring backpack or a small clutch or even a small backpack!
I can’t wait to try other styles and share them with you!
Overall, this project is a great project for beginners because it doesn’t involve a lot of additional techniques. The best thing about these bags is that they already have a design on them, so there’s no need to add anything else! Simply sew and go! Additionally, they would make great gifts!
I really hope you enjoyed this make! If you did please consider subscribing to my newsletter, so you never miss a new project!
If you make these tea towel tote bags, make sure you tag them with #DarkkFluriDIY so I can see your creations!
