Ooookay, so this is a testament to how long I can hold on to my favorite fabrics. Does that happen to you? I love hanging on to a favorite and waiting for when inspiration strikes and the fabric gets used. This is what happened with this fabric! I remember I bought it thinking I would make shorts with it??? Not sure how that would have turned out, eeeek!, but I’m glad I waited! This is the Cheater Print (a cheater print is a single fabric designed to look like patchwork) from Ellen Luckett Baker‘s first(?) collection with Kokka from 2012, called Stamped. I, of course, had bought and used a lot of the designs from that collection: Scallops, triangles, circle flowers and now this cheater print. Yep, guess I liked it!

Runaround Bag – Circle Flowers print || Tablet Case from my book, Handmade Style – Scallop print || Gingham Tote with rounded pocket option from my book, Handmade Style – Triangle print (Gingham Tote photo credit Holly DeGroot)

So I was digging through my fabric trying to get it a bit more organized (and cleaning out a bit for my annual sewing retreat with my friends) and came across this beauty and knew that I had to put it to use. Summer time sewing is a bit more limited and so a project like this Wool + Wax Tote is quite rewarding to make. With the scraps I made a coordinating zippered pouch which is always fun. I think I might be satisfied only making these totes with pouches for the rest of my sewing life. hahaha.

I used my Natural leather handles and attached them with rivets. If you’re curious about rivets I have a post here that explains a bit more and has links to sources. The contrast bottom is a waxed denim from AL Frances Textiles on Etsy. To keep things really simple I used Big Sur Canvas in Natural for the lining. For me I think I could use this for lining every bag. No need to add extra interfacing which is always a plus. And it coordinates so well with so many fabrics (plus it comes in a ton of other colors, too).

Pattern: Wool + Wax Tote (available as a stand alone PDF or as part of a collection in my Everyday Essentials booklet) and improv zippered pouch.
Fabric: Cheater Print (from Stamped collection) by Ellen Luckett Baker, (see Ellen’s latest collection here, looking forward to it later this summer/early fall!!!), Waxed Denim by AL Frances Textiles, lining is Big Sur canvas in Natural by Robert Kaufman Fabrics
Natural Leather Handles in my shop, Brass rivets from Minkus Margo on Etsy