Are you ready to see the first challenge for the 2023 Benartex Ambassadors?
First, I need to share: bag making is NOT my strong point. At. All. So I chose to focus on my piecing skills and then put it together in the hopes that it looks like a tote.
I love the cutting and piecing part of quilting. When I saw the gorgeous box of the basic solids line, Burlap, I really wanted to try and use them all.
That's a hard job for one tote bag. How would it be possible? A pixilated look came to mind, so I started drawing it out.
A truly pixilated look wasn't really possible, because I lost the "X" design in all the squares, but that's ok because I adore Half-square triangles.
There was a LOT of strip piecing involved in this tote. . .
lots. . .
more. . .
With all of these strips and squares, there was also a lot of pins involved. Bernard got quite the workout.
I chose to keep the front in neutrals so the Benartex "X" would stand out more.
The back, however, got ALL the color.
I also used all the colors on the strap.
Once all of the piecing was done I used Pellon SF101 on the wrong side of the front, back and strap to give it a little more strength.
For the inside of the strap I used a solid blue, and on the inside of the tote I used the lighter purple. I like to use a lighter color in my bags so it's easier to see what's inside.
The bag finishes at 18" x 19" and the strap is 3" x 36". The squares all finish at 1 inch.
Don't miss the other totes made from the Benartex Ambassadors. Each one is different and represents the designer so well.
