Not so simple tote bag from Martha Stewart Living

Martha bag.. (sweet fabric, eh!)

This little Martha bag is sweet and I like how one handle is looped through the other.   She suggested it was good for a beginner sewer and experienced sewer.   It looked like a simple bag but I just couldn't fathom how the sewing of those straps worked.

Since I have some fabrics on hand, I thought I'd give it a try.    The free pattern and instructions are here.  I went to Staples to enlarge the pattern.  It says to enlarge it by 200%, but I found that was a bit too big for my first bag.  I used a 175% enlargement and the width of the bag is about 10" wide.   

There are 7 steps to making this bag.  I completed steps 1 - 6 with no problem.  Then in a few simple words, step 7 was a complete stumper.  

Steps 1 - 6 were no problem.

Turning under 1/4 inch on both lining and main fabric, is harder than it looks. 



I thought I could sew it from the inside... Wrong!!

In the end, I finished it.

After I finished the bag, I went in to see if it was just me.. But I found the straps awkward and I would not say this was a beginner project.    I should have read through all the comments before starting the project.   I wasn't the only one who had difficulty.    Some of the suggestions recommended using the Allpeoplequilt version here.  It's a little different in that it has pockets inside and uses batting.  But the most important part is that it has a totally different technique for putting it together.    It looks easier.