I’ve been inspired by gingham tote bags recently and thought I would make my own! I used my 7th Street Tote bag pattern and decided to try adding a layer of quilt batting to give it some squishy structure. The 7th Street Tote is a great pattern to use for a quilted tote bag, plus it has a large outside pocket, it’s fully lined with pockets inside and recessed zipper at the bag opening keeps everything secure.
Quilting a tote bag means you have a little more freedom with fabric choice and can use a lighter weight cotton for the outer bag since the batting gives it more structure. You could also repurpose an existing quilt or make your own quilted patchwork “fabric” to use for a quilted bag. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how I quilt, or sew, the outer bag pattern pieces of the 7th Street Tote, including the straps, to a layer of batting to make a squishy quilted tote bag.
I’ve made tops, pants and dresses out of gingham but somehow hadn’t made a gingham bag yet! Love how it turned out and the fun pop of pattern it adds to an outfit.
Using the same method shown in this tutorial, I quilted a layer of batting to this colorful striped 7th Street Tote that I made in Fableism Happy Camper cotton (see below). I quilted along the pattern of the fabric, so the stitching isn’t too noticeable, but I love the squishy structure this bag has.
If you’re looking for more quilted projects, you might like my Eva Quilted Tote bag pattern, How to Make a Quilt tutorial or read about my two quilt coats I’ve made: The Rue Quilt Coat and a quilted Daphne Jacket. My Charm Pack Tote Bag tutorial uses only one charm pack but can also a great scrap busting project if you cut your own squares!
This page contains some affiliate links to products and I may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links (at no extra cost to you).
Some Things You’ll Need
- Tote bag pattern – I’m using my 7th Street Tote bag pattern
- Chosen fabric
- Batting – this is my go-to batting for quilts or quilted projects
- Coordinating thread or contrasting thread if you want!
- Fabric scissors
- Walking foot (optional)
- Curved safety pins or regular straight pins
- Washable fabric marker, frixion pen, chalk or hera marker
- If you’re making the 7th Street Tote, you’ll also need a 14” (or longer) nylon zipper for the recessed zipper and a 7″ nylon zipper for the lining zipper pocket
Step 1: Cut Out Pieces
Following your chosen bag pattern instructions, cut out all the pieces you need with your chosen fabric.
I’m using a navy blue Camp Gingham cotton from Fableism for my outer bag and a navy blue sandwashed cotton for my lining (both fabrics purchased from Stylemaker Fabrics).
Step 2: Cut Out Batting
Next you’ll need to cut out the batting for all of the outer bag pieces. I cut the batting about 1/2″ – 1″ larger than the pattern piece to account for any wonkiness that sometimes happens during quilting.
If you’re making the 7th Street Tote, I recommend not cutting batting for the recessed zipper pieces so they don’t get too bulky – this makes it much easier for the zipper steps.
I also cut out batting for the straps, but only piece per strap (the method I use for the 7th Street Tote uses 4 strap pieces).
Note: You’ll notice I cut the batting the exact size as the strap pieces and didn’t leave overhang. This was because at first I wasn’t going to quilt the straps, but then changed my mind later.
Step 3: Quilt Pattern Pieces
After all the batting is cut for the outer bag pieces, it’s time to quilt, or sew, them together! The pattern is up to you and I chose to do a diamond pattern for all my pieces.
I drew out my lines first with a frixion pen and ruler (you can also use a washable fabric marker, chalk or hera marker) and then stitched over those lines. This is where a walking foot comes in handy because it helps to guide the layers through more smoothly and avoid puckering in your fabric.
Typically in quilting, there is a backing fabric, but since the wrong side of the outer bag is hidden by the lining, I just used the two layers.
If your bag doesn’t have a lining you’ll most likely want a backing fabric and then will want to cover up the raw seams with bias binding (check out my bias binding tutorial for tips if you want to try this).
For the front pocket, I wanted a backing fabric so the inside of the pocket looked nice, but I didn’t want it too bulky with a layer of batting. So I just used my outer gingham fabric and my solid lining fabric and quilted those together. This worked really well!
Step 4: Sew Bag Together
After all the outer bag pieces are quilted, trim off the excess batting and it’s time to sew them together! I started with the straps and assembled them following the instructions for the 7th Street Tote. It really wasn’t as bulky as I expected, but you may want to use a denim needle just in case.
Follow the rest of the steps as instructed to assemble the the outer bag.
After the lining steps comes the recessed zipper steps and I thought the little gingham “zipper boat” was super cute. 🙂
Head over to my How to Sew a Recessed Zipper tutorial if you need an extra visual (or want to learn how to add it to a different bag pattern!).
One of my favorite features of the 7th Street Tote is the recessed zipper! It’s really nice to have the option to close the bag and keep everything inside secure.
And there you have a finished quilted tote bag! I love the squishy quilted feel of this bag and the straps especially are really comfortable with the added layer of batting.
Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and maybe you’ll make your own quilted tote bag or give the 7th Street Tote pattern a try! It’s one of my favorite and most used bags! Happy sewing 🙂
