Art Caddy Tote

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to win my pick of 3 Gingercake patterns.  I finally got around to using one of them: the Art Caddy Tote.

It turned out really cute and I think my little guy will love it.  However, I must admit, this was a lot of work.  A lot of pieces to cut and interface and assembly was tricky with so many layers.  I kept getting frustrated and putting it aside so it's actually been in the works for a couple of months.  I'm glad I finally finished it though  :)

As I tend to do with most patterns, I did make a few modifications:

1) I cut most of the pockets at about twice the height and sandwiched a layer of sew-in interfacing (aka scrap fabric) so I could avoid using more fusible interfacing and having to fold/iron/sew the top and bottom edges (i.e I just folded it in half, sewed into a tube and turned right side out instead).

2) I used home decor weight fabric as my main fabric, which allowed #3

3) I skipped the thick heavy double sided fusible interfacing altogether, which is not available at my fabric store so I just used more sew-in interfacing

4) I used webbing instead of ribbon for handles, because I wanted it to be more sturdy but was also too lazy to make handles from my fabric (which the pattern suggests as the alternative).

I found the pictures in the pattern very helpful.  I did wish that the steps were broken down a little more though, but maybe that is just 'cause I tend to skim and miss things when they are not in a short checklist-like form.  Overall, I'm really happy with it and I think it will get a lot of use!

I'm also happy that it was such a thrifty project!  

-I won the pattern = free

-main fabric was part of a piece of remnant that was $2 for a meter

-crayola accent fabric was a thrift store find - $3 for a couple of meters

-fusible interfacing used on the main body pieces I had on hand from when I bought some on sale for $1 a package.

-the webbing I also had on hand - I bought a huge roll of it from a garage sale last summer for $5.

So really, this thing only cost a couple of bucks to make and everything was from my stash, which makes it all the more satisfying!  :)