Tote Bags for Foster Care Children
 

Could someone please post a picture if you've made totes for foster care kids. And dimensions.

my Guild just did this and I forgot to take a picture before I sent the on--but we used a pattern out of one of the BLOCK magazines--Fall and can't remember the year but think it was 2015. they were about 20x22. I did not use the pattern--I just sewed my strips to the bat a la QAYG and attached the handles right onto the outside, then I folded up and did side seams and boxed the inside corners. I then made up the lining with pockets on each side. You do the side seams and boxed corners just like the outside, but leave a space big enough in the bottom to reach through and pull the outside through. then pop the outside into the lining (right side of the outside next to wrong side of the lining) and sewed the lining to the outside at the top and topstitched it too. then you just pull the whole outside through the lining and sew up the space.

My daughter does therapy with foster care kids and others--but has been working with the foster care kids for the last 12 yr--she says one thing that they all repeat is how "throw away" they feel when they are moved from foster care to foster care homes with all their worldly belongings in trash bags--so I applaud you for wanting to do this project. If all quilters made 2 we could probably come close to solving this problem. What do you say, quilters?

Pillow case for tote bag
 

You could make a pillow case with a tie closure attached to one of the side seams.

I've looked into this before. Is there a website that tells you where you can send the totes to? The only sites I've seen want donations to purchase commercially made duffles/totes. Still a good cause, but I would like to make something.

i live in a really small town and i thought i would start with supplying our local police officers and county sheriff with bags first.

contact your closest Child Protective Services (CPS) which will likely be a department in the State Social Services (or whatever your state calls it). Even in states that have privatized the foster care administration, the CPS is involved in taking kids out of the home and presenting the case to the family courts that determine whether fostering needed.

This is a very sore spot for me. Who sends a child, that's been a part of your family, away with belongings in a trash bag? A duffel bag at Goodwill cost a few dollars.

https://www.babble.com/home/how-to-m...e-backpacks-2/

My kids like this type of back packs. My teen son also likes messenger bags. You can make some out of recycled jeans or camo wear. A lot of time kids come with nothing or ill fitting clothes and shoes and or no winter coat in the heart of winter. Bless you for taking this on. Even if everything doesn't fit and the rest has to go in a garbage bag this will atleast help.

I think a Fat Quarter Bag (free pattern on line) would make a great bag for Foster Kids. I was a foster parent years ago and they usually used a large dark green/black trash bag.

It breaks my heart that foster kids have to stow their worldly possessions in a garbage bag. Our AARP chapter bought Goodwill suitcases (small ones) for the kids to use.