Professional Tote....tips?
 

I have finally purchased the pattern. I love to make purses. Any "tips" in regard to the construction? Choosing fabrics? What you wish you knew before you made yourProfessional Tote?

Thanks !!
sandy

I will be interested in responses too as I have purchased this pattern but have not started it because it looks quite complicated!!

I didn't cut individual pieces of the interfacing to fuse on the pattern pieces. I put the interfacing on a length of fabric, then cut the pieces. I feel it saved a lot of time and frustration. Be sure to follow the directions exactly and go from step 1 to step 2, then step 3. Don't get ahead of yourself. Have ALL your notions before you start -- you will be surprised at the order you will need them. Don't let the instructions intimidate you. Focus only on the step that you are on! It would be good to read all the instructions before starting. When working on your tote if you don't understand what the instructions say then take a break and come back to that step when you start again. This is not a quick bag to make but it really isn't all that hard -- just a lot of instructions. My 11 year old granddaughter made this bag last year -- she got a blue ribbon, Best of Class and Best of Show at the fair.

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Nammie to 7's advice is spot on. I can't share a picture as I didn't take any of mine and used it so much, I literally wore the handles out! Recently bought the Mini Professional Tote as that will be a better "every day" size for me.

Nammie to 7 - your granddaughter is adorable and her bag is wonderful! Great choice of fabrics and beautifully done!

Is this the tote you are talking about?
http://thecreativethimble.com/shop/p...-tote/#reviews

I've never made one as it seems intimidating; however, if an 11yo can do it maybe I can too! :)

Nammie
your DGD and her bag are beautiful!! I hope to try the Professional Tote pattern soon!

Nammie your granddaughter is beautiful! And congrats to her on that great bag. Also thank you for your advice. Especially the part about taking a break when it's too much to process. I'm working on a different complicated tote with a lot of pieces, fabric, Peltex, fusible fleece, interfacing. Driving me crazy, and starting to cut things the wrong size! Another tip I have is to pin a note on each set of cuttings so you can keep everything straight. Seriously, when you have main body, upper body, bottom, front pockets, back pockets, then lining pieces, then the fusible pieces, etc. AND all the pieces seem similar in size, I'm finding it helpful to stay organized.

I've made 3 and the above advise is exactly what I would say. The last one I made I used Soft and Stable https://www.byannie.com/shop/categor...ft-and-stable/
instead of the other interfacing recommended. It is easy to sew through and gives the bag great body. As a side benefit, it weighs less than the one with the recommended interfacings.

I have the mini version pattern - is it hard to do with a directional print?

Pat, I would also like to use the soft and stable, can you tell me, did you use any of the recommended Deco bond or did you just follow direction and cut every piece of the (interfacing) out of the soft and stable? (Piece for piece?). Thx
Irene

Nammie to 7 that is absolutely one of the cutest bags I have ever seen.

Don't take the labels off the pieces until you are ready for them! I cut out multiples, thinking I was going to assembly line sew them, and it was a bit confusing. Made 4, was not happy with the soft bottom so I added a thin piece of plastic. Better for me. Top stitching through all the layers was tricky for me at the top, the machine got in the way, but it is doable. Using 3 colors worked best for me. 4 and 5 got too tricky (never sure which color was going to be on which pocket and there are alot of pockets). If you are selling them, charge what they are worth! A lady in our guild charges $75 to make them, you supply the fabric!

My sister has made a bunch of these. She uses faux leather for the bottom part and adds little feet. She also put in a recessed zipper on some but is still figuring out the best method for that.

Trying to remember (a chore that gets more difficult all the time) I think I just used the Soft and Stable on the main outside body parts and then used the recommended interfacing for the other pieces.

This is one I made maybe 5 years ago. It is very saggy.

The 2nd picture (if this works) is the one I made 2 years ago with the Soft and Stable

great ideas for bags, I will have to try the soft and stable.

Thx, looks wonderful using the soft and stable. Going to try!

Thanks -- I will tell my granddaughter. She is pretty proud of her bag!

Take your time. It is not hard. I did not do the insert, instead I made pockets that worked for mehttp://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=496036&stc=1

If I use the soft and stable, would I have to quilt it to the pieces since its not fusible?
Irene

Looks fairly simple but time consuming. But that's from a gal who made up her own back pack patterns.

Irene, i quilt. I stitch about 1/8" around the piece with the fabric and S&S stacked together

Well, it has been a year since I posted this thread. I finally have started on the tote. First, the tips were spot on! Thank you! They really helped! I consider myself a confident purse maker and I knew that the Professional tote would certainly stretch my abilities . It has not dissapointed! I just finished the outside of the purse and I am sure that the rest is going to fall into place quickly and quicker. Whew!!!

Musings so far. Hints from "Nammie to 7 " were spot on!! As were others.
yes, get the Wonder Clips! Much easier to use vs trying to pin through thicknesses.
Use a walking foot! Needed for sewing thickness.
Use a Teflon foot if using faux leather! I used faux leather for the straps and the bottom of the purse. Worked great!
Use a jean needle. For thickness.
my Janome 9900 really handles sewing through thickness beautifully. Pretty sure that I would not tackle this pattern using my smaller Janome 3050. The sewing bed is too small imho. At one step I sewed through 2 layers of Soft & Stable, 2 layers of fabric AND 6 layers of the faux leather!! (Straps). I just went slow and used my walking foot. No problem! Whew! So proud of that machine!

Take your time, read and read again each step. Excellent instructions!

I hope to finish this in the next week or so. Time permitting!

Sandy

Just watch your directional prints so every thing comes out right side up. Read the instructions through first, then do each step in order. I have made over 60 of the PT and the Mini PT. Be careful, they are addictive! I have also taught many classes for these. I have an 80 year old student right now with very little sewing experience and she is getting hers done, slowly but she is OCD about everything being just perfect. She has been fun to teach! Everytime I explain something to her and she finally "gets it" you can see the light go on in her eyes!

Sandy...Nammie is absolutely right as well as the other hints. I purchased my pattern in 2003 and just this summer got brave enough to make. I read the pattern a couple times before starting, I made the bag all on my own!!! So impressed with myself I am now making three for Xmas gifts. i also contacted Laura the pattern designer and she emailed me the updated instructions, my pattern was so old...lol

i went to the AQS show in Syracuse....Laura signed my old pattern! Lol I am so impressed with her pattern writing, I have bought several more patterns of hers, her style of writing just works for me.

all who have not tried yet.....please do!!!! Sounds like if you got into trouble there are several here who would help!!!

P.S. I use Pellon 987F fusible fleece, and although my designer SE will sew through the thickness... I use my mega quilter to sew thicker seams together. I also use 1" 1/4"webbing and cover them with accent fabric, this methods creates a nice comfortable stable strap.

Nammie to 7--your granddaughter is adorable and she looks so proud of her achievements. Congratulations to her. The tote is beautiful. Would you mind sharing the name of the pattern and designer? This sounds like a good challenge I would like to attempt (after I get done making Halloween costumes for grandchildren)! Thanks for all of the great tips too on the construction of this tote. You can PM me if you like.

After making mine (i will post a photo soon!) I would charge $250! My brain hurts! BUT... The next one will go quicker having gotten through the first one....IF there is a next one! My Janet bag by Totes by Sandy is similar and much quicker. I have made 5-6 of those. No zippers...which I dont mind working with.

Sandy ( no relation to Totes by Sandy)

hint: it is in the title of this thread I started.

Sandy