Category: Here's One I Made Earlier - Toots Totes

Lulu's first modelling job for Toots Totes

20/1/2019

When we produce so much waste per household, it's very satisfying to re-purpose clothes that you've loved and worn to death! I currently have a pile of T shirts collected over the last couple of years that I intend to turn into a rag rug.
A while back, I carefully unpicked the pocket section from a pair of jeans and have finally got round to making myself a little denim bag. As I usually get the cast-offs from failed bag attempts, making one especially for me feels like a luxury!
I made it to the same sort of shape, but narrower than, my little "Clover" clutch, with magnetic fasteners either side so the bag opens up to find stuff and looks neat when closed. I already had a Liberty print that made a vibrant lining and I attached an adjustable blue leather strap to a ring each side so that I can wear it as a cross body bag.
It was Lulu's first modelling job for me and she received a few compliments on Instagram! She's very modest and said it was just the bag that caught everyone's attention! I'd like to think so!

Unicorns, princesses and castles...

30/12/2018

You have to have a plush unicorn zip pull!

The pattern had fixed straps and I made them adjustable with loops and buckles.

Cute little pin badges made with my Ebay Badge-It purchase!

The trickiest bit was fixing the lining in with straight lines on a curved surface!

Compulsory spotty lining!

My signature flowery buckles were a perfect finishing touch!

Now that Christmas has been and gone, I can show you the last thing I made. For only the second time since I started making bags (in 2011), I actually used a bought paper pattern rather than making it up as I went along! I added some of my own ideas, as you do. I must confess it was a challenge to decipher the instructions and diagrams but I got there! The dear little four year old who received it declared: 'This is the perfect bag for me', so I felt it was a job well done! :)

Kitsch vs Trad...?

30/11/2018

Some cute little purses (or pouches depending on your part of the world!)
Kitsch poodles and limos -what's not to like?
Or trad William Morris Corncockle fabric-which do you prefer?
Don't forget I also make bespoke items to order if you have something particular in mind.
Go to the Bespoke Contact page and let me know...

Vintage french fabric clutch

25/5/2018

A lovely vintage french cotton fabric I picked up from Etsy has made a super little clutch bag. I love those vintage shades of green and the abstract design. Another for the Secret Vintage Fair of course!

Flower power!

7/5/2018

A cute cross body bag with leather strap made in genuine 1970's Grace Sullivan 'Desdemona' fabric designed for Moygashel. Available at the Secret Vintage World, The Minories, Colchester on 26th May. Tickets available HERE or pay on the day.

Giving it to you on a plate...!

12/4/2018

A clutch bag presented on a plate is a bit weird , I know, but the colours were so good together it had to be done.These plates have got to date from the 50s so a perfect backdrop for a reprint of a Sanderson fabric called 'Festival' produced for the Festival of Britain in 1951, which gave British design and manufacturing a boost after the war.

A couple more pics without the plates just for good measure! The clutch has a removable handle and a dupion silk lining, complete with open and zipped pockets. The flap fastens with a magnet and shows off that great mid-century abstract design.
Come and find it and me at the Secret Vintage Fair on 26th May!

What's in a name?

6/1/2018

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet... 'Bum-bags'. Remember them? But I ask you: 'bum-bag'? Not a name that conjures up a pleasant sight... and the American version 'Fanny Pack' is even more dreadful! I've been looking at the Spring-Summer catwalk trends and whatever they're called, it seems like they're making a come-back, so I thought I'd have a go at making one. I want it to be versatile, so it can be used as a clutch, a cross body or shoulder bag too, so strap attachment will be a challenge. Colours are ice cream shades, and pink is a definite. I've a lovely piece of Liberty stylised flowers fabric and a matching dupion silk that will do the job nicely! I'll have to purchase some coordinating webbing for the strap.

Liberty 'Field of Xanthe Sunbeam' fabric

Love Ebay for haberdashery!

A little bit of beading and embroidery to enhance the front. Then to master the rivet tool to make a belt! The tricky part is finding the right fittings to make the hole and then fix the rivet in place. I'm quite pleased with the result! Not so sure that's the right buckle tho': I might source another!

Pretty it up.

Practice run!

I've made some loops for the back to thread the belt through. I think for this first attempt I'm not going to puzzle over making it transferable to a cross body bag-that's a challenge for next time. It can be removed from the belt to be used as clutch bag, so has some versatility.

A passable belt, but maybe a different buckle?

Back loops on completed outer-just need the lining now!

Well here it is complete. It's essentially a messenger bag in miniature, which made the construction far too fiddly. I'll try a different way of doing it next time without the gusset.
And the name? Well 'hip-purse' is my choice, and 'belt-bag' is equally descriptive! Take your pick.

I opted for a prettier buckle.

Back view showing belt loops.

Showing dupion silk lining and zip pull.

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye...

20/12/2017

It's sad to say good-bye and in this case a dear colleague is retiring, so I have asked her to choose a fabric and a design so that I can make her a bag as a retirement gift! She chose this design and this sort of fabric...

She chose this design

She chose this sort of fabric

So I found this lovely thick cotton stripe for the outer and a pretty floral for the lining.

And I decided on leather handles and floral beaded zip pulls to make it extra special!

She loved the result!

Purple purse

25/11/2017

One of those lovely silks I bought in Sudbury at Vanners Silk Shop is now a pretty evening purse, set onto a metal frame and enhanced with beading along the top, The oversized purple snaps on top give it a contemporary kitsch look. There are two open pockets and one zipped pocket with beaded zip pull, and a vibrant dupion silk lining . A little chain handle completes the look.

Don't count on it...

11/9/2017

You know what they say - don't count your flamingos before they've flown...? I am trying to make samples to present to Gainsborough's House, but then someone fell in love with this one and I sold it as soon as it was done! Maybe I need to put all my eggs in one basket or something? (puzzled face!)

Applique on silk woven at Vanner's Silks in Sudbury.

Lined with dupion silk.

And by the way: the keen ones amongst you might have noticed that I sewed the frame on back to front, so the chain was attached at the front instead of the back! And YES I did painstakingly unpick it and re-sew it the right way round!! Now I know why they call it pins and needles 'cos that's what you get from too much hand sewing.

Author

Hello, I'm Ruth Overton. My nickname as a child was 'Ruthie Toots' which is how the name 'TootsTotes'
came about!
I come from a family of artists and artisans and the creative gene has resulted in a desire to make stuff. There's nothing I love more, than to sit at my old treadle machine, sewing. It was handed down to me, through the family having been bought by my Grandad for Grandma in the 1930's. (See my blogs about the machine here.)
More recently I have turned my attention to designing and creating bags and 'Toots Totes' began.
I'm going to blog about how ideas for bags come about and how things happen in the sewing room, so join me there if you want to, or bypass this to go to the store or the gallery, if you prefer - I won't mind!

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