I was needing a nice tote for my little notebook computer and all my different electronic charging cords to carry with me when I go to the hospital. I also wanted it to be nice enough I can use it as a purse. I had in mind these
neoprene lunch totes with cut out handles. I thought I had seen a tutorial somewhere before, but had no luck in finding it. So I decided I can figure this out myself and make my first tutorial! Here you go!
I started out with some foam I've had around for a while. It's about 1/2" thick. Quilt batting would work great. You can go with the fusible stuff or just regular batting. I placed my computer on the foam, drew a rectangle around the computer - leave a couple inches on each side for the box sides and room to wiggle. I only left about 1 1/2" and it did end up being a little snug on the sides with the notebook sitting horizontally like I had intended. I then added 2" to the bottom to box the bottom of the tote. And then drew a curve above to accommodate the handles.
Use your batting as your pattern or make a paper pattern. Cut out 2 pieces for the outside (I used my tapestry fabric for the outer.) Cut out 2 pieces for the lining (I used one of my hubbies old heavy weight t-shirts). I then cut out a patch pocket from the outer fabric for an outside pocket and two strips about 1 1/2" less than the width of the main piece. Since I was using a t-shirt I cut the top of the pocket to be the bottom hem of the shirt to save myself a step.
Next step is to attach your pockets. Hem the top edge of your pockets if needed. Pin your pocket into place about 2 inches below where the curve starts. Fold under the bottom & side edges and top-stitch. For the longer pockets inside you will then stitch straight lines to divide your pockets. I did three on the shorter pocket and 4 on the taller pocket for skinnier cord bundles & pens.
Once you have all your pockets sewn on you will attach the batting to the wrong side of the lining. For non-fusible you will sew a 1/4" all the way around to make it one piece. From now on the batting is the wrong side of the lining and the fabric is the right side. Now, sew the main pieces right sides together. Sew the lining together and then the outer. Sew only the sides up to the curve and the bottom. DO NOT SEW THE HANDLE CURVE!! You should now have two flat sacks - one of the outer fabric and one inner fabric.
This would be the best time to box your corners for a flat bottom bag. With the right sides facing in you will fold the side seam to match up with the bottom seam. This will make the corner poke out. Measure 2" in from the point of the corner and straight across the corner perpendicular to the seam. Do this on both bottom corners of inner & outer bag. Cut off the excess corner, leaving at least 1/4" allowance.
Now you will take one of your sacks and turn it right side out and place it inside the other sack - so you have two sacks right sides together. I left my outer back inside out, turned the liner the foam is showing and placed the liner inside the outer sack. So the layers you will see are outer fabric, liner fabric, foam. You will now sew around the handle curve. Be sure to leave a good size opening (3-4") for turning. Careful at the side seams. I had to go back and redo the sides to catch all the layers together. Turn your bag right sides out and then tuck the liner inside the outer bag. Now you're getting an idea of what the finished bag will look like. Don't worry, we haven't forgotten about the handles!
Next you want to top-stitch all around the top. Before you start sewing reach inside and make sure the seam is pushed out all around. Then pin your opening closed being sure to fold in all the raw edges and top stitch around. You can kinda pull the lining more to the inside while stitching if you want to make it look a little nicer.
Now for the handles. Use a piece of heavy paper or cardboard for your handle pattern. I would make the hole an oval rather than the pointy shape I used. The points make binding a little difficult. You want an oval shape about an inch from the top of your bag that follows the curve somewhat. Copy the shape onto your bag making sure it matches up on each handle. Now stitch on that line through all layers. You might want to pin this to keep fabric from wandering. I didn't have much trouble with it.
Once you have the stitching in place, cut out your handle about 1/4" from the stitching line.
Now you will need binding. You can use ribbing, fold-over elastic, bias tape, t-shirt fabric. Anything that has a little stretch to it to allow going around the curves. I used a thick ribbing from the t-shirt used for the lining fabric. Whatever you choose to use, you'll want it to be about 1 1/2" wide to accommodate going around all three layers. You will stitch it right side to right side to the lining. Overlap your ends about 1/2" and fold under the finishing edge if needed. (Bias tape will need to be folded under. Elastic, ribbing, jersey won't ravel, so no need to fold under.) Then you will fold over and either top-stitch or hand stitch to the outside. The corners are a little fiddly. I had trouble getting them to look nice, and just had to work it into place. I prefer hand stitching for fiddly bits like this, but if you prefer your machine, be sure to use lots of pins!
And that's it! Enjoy your new bag! Here's the inside of mine with my computer & accessories.
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