Art Totes

A little more Christmas show and tell. Here are some gifts that I made for my 3 nephews. They are art totes that are sized for a coloring book on the inside. On the outside, there are pockets on one side for markers and on the other for crayons.

I had this bright, fun fabric in my stash. I used one larger piece of fabric that was twice the width of the finished tote and a shorter piece of coordinating fabric that was the same width. I did a simple hem (folded over the fabric once and top-stitched) along the top of the shorter piece which was to become the pockets for the marker/crayons. Then I placed this piece along the bottom edge of the larger piece and sewed straight vertical lines to form the pockets. I made my lines 7/8" apart, but that could be adjusted if you were using fatter markers. I did a hem at the top of the large piece and then stitched the bag together by folding it right sides together (pockets on the inside) and sewing down the sides and across the bottom. I made straps with 4" wide strips of fabric. I pressed the strips in half and then pressed each half in towards the center fold that I had just pressed (like bias tape). I top-stitched the strap close to the edge and then sewed these onto the bags.

I think these are pretty fun an I hope my nephews enjoy them!