How to Make a Market Tote Bag

Go green and look stylish doing it with a DIY reusable grocery bag! This DIY tote bag pattern is an easy project for beginners. You'll learn some useful skills and techniques including how to sew webbing to fabric, how to add a lining to a bag, how to bind raw fabric edges and more. Are you ready to make a stylish and eco-conscious reusable tote bag? Let's jump into this fun and fast DIY tote bag project.

The first step is picking out a fun fabric. We made our market tote from outdoor upholstery fabric. Outdoor polyester printed upholstery fabrics are bursting with bright and colorful patterns, and we have a large selection so you can find a fabric that fits your personality and style. We wanted our reusable market bag to be easy to clean in case of food spills, so we lined the bag with water-repellent, quick-drying shower curtain liner fabric. Adding a lining fabric also gives the bag a finished, professional look.

The bag's handles are made from our Heavy Duty Cotton Webbing. This webbing is stronger and thicker than standard cotton webbing. The webbing is incredibly soft and comfortable to hold, meaning no shoulder ache when toting your new tote around! It's a great choice for bag handles, straps and more.

The finished bag size is approximately 14 inches high x 18-1/2 inches wide x 9 inches deep.

Here's why you'll love this DIY tote bag design:

• Colorful and fun outdoor fabric shows off your unique style.
• Soft cotton webbing is comfortable to hold with no shoulder ache.
• Water-repellent lining fabric means easy cleanup in case of spills.
• Large flat bottom gives lots of room for grocery stacking.

Are you ready to make your own tote bag? Watch the video below for complete, step-by-step instructions. You'll find the materials and tools list below the video.

Materials & Tools List:

• 1 yard upholstery fabric of choice (We chose Solarium^® Gould Dune #123979)
• 1 yard Shower Curtain Liner White #123482
• 8 feet Heavy Duty Cotton Webbing 1-1/2" (color of choice)
• 3 feet Grosgrain Webbing 1" (for binding)
• Fabric Scissors
• Sailrite^® Cordless Rotary Cutter #124044 (optional)
• Sailrite^® Canvas Patterning Ruler #107040
• Clear Acrylic Ruler 6" x 24" #102400
• Template Plastic Plain A4 #123106
• Sewing Pins or Fabric Clips
• Marking Pencil
• 3/8" Basting Tape for Canvas #129
• Tex 70 UV Bonded Polyester Thread (color of choice)
• #16 Round/Sharp Point Needle
• Sailrite^® Ultrafeed^® LS Walking Foot Sewing Machine #300500
• Speed Reduction Upgrade for Ultrafeed^® #123372 (optional)

We hope you enjoyed this fun market tote bag DIY project. How will you use your tote bag? As a grocery bag, a beach bag, an everyday tote or as something else? We'd love to hear you. Post your DIY tote bag photos and thoughts in the comments section below!

Do you have ideas for more bag and hobby projects? Let us know what you'd like to see our DIY team make and your idea might become a future Sailrite^® video! Thanks for watching, and happy sewing.