Okay - I have a problem. I just made a tote....the pattern is Jelly Bags. the pattern says the size is 16 1/2" x 14 1/2". Is the 16 the heighth or the width??????? The patterns don't stipulate which is which...I've made the tote and it's too narrow!!!! By the time you get the pleat on the sides, you have very little room to reach into the bag!!!! :roll: So is there a rule of thumb for measurements?????? :?: :D

Normally in measurements, the first number is the width and the second one is the height. But it sounds like this pattern should be the other way around (16 high x 14 wide)?

I found a site that listed the "materials needed" to make this bag, one of the listed items is 5" x 15" piece of foam core board or cardboard after reading this i can say the bag is suposed to be 16 1/2" WIDE with a gusset a little larger than 5", because this item is used to make the bottom stiff so it doesn't sag (I use plasic canvas in my bags). Which would leave the measurment of 14 1/2" for the HEIGHT!!

Did you use the 14" for the width?

Thank you justwannaquilt.....I DID do it backwards!!! Mine turned out 14 1/2" wide!!! And after you take in 2" for the pleats, it's way too narrow!. I'll leave off the pleats this time. So, it should have been 16 1/2" is the width and 14 1/2" is the heighth, right?????


NOTE to all pattern makers.....for us challenged people...TELL us which is which....... !!! :mrgreen:

lol, thats ok when I use to makea lot of totes I would just make my own patterns for different sizes out of card stock use until they were worn and then draw and cut another! well one day I drew out my pattern, this perticular bag had a six inch gusset, you can only imagine my surprise when I cut the pattern out of some <rather expensive> fabric and started sewing, I then realized that when I drew my "pattern" out, I fogot to add the three inches on both sides and the bottom for the gusset. The bag was suddenly six inches narrower, and three inches shorter than it was suposed to be!

Thank goodness I was working on a diaper bag for myself, it suddenly went from a "fullsize" diaper bag to a mini one bottle a diaper or two and some whipes bag! LOL

Just saw your question....yes, I did do the width as 14 1/2".....but my question is...is there a STANDARD...such as width is always first when doing sizes or height is always first.