Sierra Tote project bag

I recently made a Sierra tote by Indigobird Design, a popular sewing pattern that comes with two views - a long handled tote that would be great as a lunch bag or a short handled bin, perfect for storing a project. If you follow me on Instagram (if you don't, I'd love to meet you!) you'll be seeing the first version pop up shortly, I made it for Mother's Day, which was last weekend in the UK. Unfortunately, I didn't actually get to hand it to my Mum, social distancing and all that, so I'll be posting it to her at some point in the future. Soz Ma!

This version I made for me, to be used as a knitting bin in the flat. I'm not in love with the colours I chose but I wanted to use stash fabric and if I'm honest, it looked more chic and classic and less...well...dull when I was planning it in my head.

The white material is sail cloth, salvaged from my grandparents old boat before it was sold a couple of years ago. I spent many happy hours on that boat during my childhood, they had it for over 30yrs and I'm only sad I wasn't in a financial position to buy it from them when the time came. Still, a small piece of it will live on in this little project bin, bringing me joy every time I see it. The brown faux-leather was deadstock from a retired upholsterer and the crystal print cotton lining Andrew brought back from San Francisco for me. Love him.

I would thoroughly recommend this pattern, especially during this quarantine period. It's straight forward to follow, the perfect auto-pilot project you need to calm an anxious mind. It probably took me about 4hrs from start to finish and I made the one for Mum and this one back-to-back whilst listening to an audiobook, which is saying something about how much I enjoyed the process. Plus, now I have somewhere to show off my holiday pins!