I hope you’ve been enjoying seeing Driftless in action. If you’re new here or just catching up, Driftless is my newest collection with Robert Kaufman Fabrics that is overprinted on Essex, Essex Yarn Dyed, and Essex Yarn Dyed Homespun. I spent a large chunk of time sewing samples for this collection and it’s fun to be able to share these projects with you now that the fabric is in stores! Exciting!!

Of course I had to sew up as many bag samples as my little fingers would let me. The Redwood Tote was a fun one to sew up! I had so much fun making all my previous Redwood Totes that I knew it would be fun to see it come to life using Driftless. I love that this tote looks great in a single fabric exterior, like this one, but I love mixing up exterior fabrics looks amazing, too! So if you don’t typically have larger cuts of fabric, this is a fun project to incorporate a few of your faves!

This print I designed was a fun puzzle to try and figure out. I knew I wanted to illustrate the amazing clouds and their reflections on the river, more easily said than done. I spent quite a while working the repeat of this design trying to get things to look how I wanted and I’m happy the way it translated to fabric! I hope you like it!

I always about saving time and effort to get to a final project that I still love. So that’s why I love a leather handle, takes so much less time and effort. Plus I lined this bag with Big Sur Canvas in Unbleached which I’ve since been buying several yards at a time. I don’t have to interface the lining at all and that my friends makes me really happy. Of course when I have a exterior and lining fabric pair that I love, of course I do what’s necessary to make it work. But when I’m not too concerned with the lining, especially on a tote where it remains zipped up for the majority of its life, I’m good with Natural canvas!

I think if you’re newer to bag making, the less pieces you need to cut and fuse, the less frustrated you’ll get! It’s a great stepping stone to take the pressure off a bit and give yourself a break.

Anyway, seeing this tote again makes me long for warmer days and those big puffy clouds….

Pattern: Redwood Tote
Fabrics: Water & Sky print from Driftless, Big Sur Canvas in Unbleached, Gingham
Hardware here, leather handles here (15″ length), leather crossbody strap here.