Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Professional Tote

I finally completed my Professional Tote; it had been cut out since June. I'm a procrastinator and don't like to follow patterns!  The 14 pages of instructions for the Professional Tote by The Creative Thimble seemed intimidating before I began.  However, it turned out the instructions were nicely detailed and easy to follow.

This is the front of the tote.  Between the handles there is a zippered pocket with another pocket behind it.



There are pockets on either side of the bag.  I have an umbrella in one of the pockets and the other could hold a bottle of water.

 
The back of the bag has one large pocket with a magnetic snap closure. 
The top of the tote has a separating zipper.

 
Inside there is a large zippered pocket in the center of the bag.  On one side there are pockets for my cell phone, camera and some pens.

 
The other side of the inside has 2 open pockets and a pleated pocket with a pocket flap with Velcro.


I learned a lot using this pattern and will incorporate some of the features in future bags.

Besides the The Creative Thimble website, I found two blogs which were very helpful in constructing the bag.  Colleen's Space has  step by step photos showing how the tote goes together.  There She Sews! has a detailed tutorial on how to install the separating zipper on top of the tote.  (The pattern had called for a regular zipper, the separating zipper makes access to the interior much easier.)

4 comments:

jenny said...

congrats on finishing! looks good. should be perfect for say a trip to colorado.

Laura Martell said...

Your tote bag is gorgeous, I love the fabrics you picked. Thank you for saying nice things about my pattern. I know the 14 pages are intimidating, but I put lots of details in there so all you have to do is go step by step. I am getting my website updated soon, so I will be adding lots of pictures and help on some of the trickier parts of the tote. Thanks, Laura, The Creative Thimble

Anonymous said...

How do I find colleens space?

Peggy's Art Studio said...

I am working on the Mini Professional Tote and have come to the padded inner zipper pocket and want to know why the pocket pieces are different sizes. Piece 9 is 12" W x 9 1/2" H and piece 9a is 13" W x 11 H". Why are they different and how do the fit together beings that they are so different. I am going crazy trying to figure this out. I am trying to make three purses for Christmas gifts and I am stymied at this point. Please help me.

Thanks Peggy Helton
email me at: peggyhelton@gmail.com