My sea themed simple tote bag

It's definitely getting cooler now here as we head towards the end of the year, and I'm busy working my way through my list of ten craft projects to complete by Christmas.

Next up on my list was a sea themed fabric project. I bought some lovely fabric while I was in the US this summer, and I intentionally chose some that had a beach or ocean theme or was blue and green in colour. Most of the fabric in my stash was pink and flowery and so I wanted something a bit different. I wasn't sure what to make, but after searching for inspiration online I decided to try a simple tote bag.

From my new fabric I chose the blue camouflage, seahorses and turtles and different shells. I already had some fabric with anchors on which I knew would be perfect for the lining.

I searched for simple tutorials and found this one from Skip to my Lou - How to make a tote bag. It's an excellent tutorial for a simple lined and reversible tote bag and I found it pretty easy to follow. The only place I got a bit caught out was with the straps, I'm not very good at visualising how a pattern will come together, and it took me a while to work out how I needed to place them! Next time I would manage the placement a bit better with an extra twist.

And there will definitely be a next time because I was so pleased with how this turned out! I already have an order lined up for Mia, and I'm thinking about making a few smaller ones for some younger family members. It's gong to be a great way to work through some of my fabric stash!