Phew, it’s finally finished! This was one of those projects that I never thought I would finish. In all honesty, it is a fairly quick and simple project. Its just like making a basket or a bag, but with adding large pockets on the outside before sewing it all together. This little organizer can be used in so many ways. I just love it! The first one that I made was for my mother in law and she uses it to organize all of her note cards and stationary, see it here. But you can use it anywhere to store anything. Use the same basic design to make a bigger or smaller one. You could even make a round one! I’m hoping that I will be back on my sewing feet again soon because I have plans to make a ton of these! Sorry about the spacing of the pictures and wording. I had a hard time getting everything to line up properly. It still drives me nuts, but I finally had to give in and leave it to be. Hopefully this doesn’t make it harder to follow, just let me know.
Organizing Tote Basket Tutorial

(Allow 3-4 hours to complete)

Materials Needed:

* cotton fabric about 1 yard

*fat quarter of flannel fabric or light weight stabilizer

*1/2 yard of terrycloth, fleece or medium weight stabilizer

*70″ of bias tape or make some if you have enough fabric.

Cut the following from the cotton fabric: (Make sure you letter each piece of fabric as you cut them out. It will make assembling the organizer much easier.)
A: 6 pieces at 9 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ (sides and bottom of organizer)
B: 4 pieces at 7 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ (sides of organizer)
C: 2 pieces at 9 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ (side pockets)
D: 1 piece at 7 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ (side pocket with slots)
2 pieces at 17″ x 3″ (handles)
Cut the following from terrycloth, fleece or medium weight stabilizer:
A: 3 pieces at 9 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ (sides and bottom)
B: 2 pieces at 7 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ (sides)
Cut the following from the flannel or lightweight stabilizer:
1 piece at 7 1/2″ x 5 1/4″ (stabilizer for the pocket with slots)
2 pieces at 9 1/2″ x 5 1/4″(stabilizer for the longer pockets)
**Bias tape**
You will need about 70″ of bias tape. You can either buy some bias tape or make it yourself. I had plenty of fabric so I made my own bias tape.
For now you will be working with just the following pieces: the bias tape, the 3 pieces of flannel, 2C pieces & 1 D piece.

Fold one C piece in half, wrong sides together with the 9 1/2″ x 5 1/4″ piece of flannel folded in the middle. Iron flat.

Cut off a 9 1/2″ piece of bias tape.
Unfold the bias tape. Place the top edge of the bias tape onto the folded edge of the fabric.
Sew bias tape on. If you are using homemade bias tape, do not sew in the ditch, sew in a little bit. If you are using store bought bias tape line up the shorter side on the top edge and sew in the ditch.
Now fold bias tape up.
And over, then fold edge raw edge under. Sew bias tape as close to the edge as possible.

Here is what your first finished piece will look like.
Repeat with the other C piece and 9 1/2″ x 5 1/4″ piece of flannel. Once that is finished, repeat the same steps but with the D piece and the 7 1/2″ x 5 1/4″ piece of flannel. Your three finished pieces should look like this now. These are going to be the pocket pieces on your organizer. Take the D pocket piece that you just made and measure how wide you want your slots to be. You can make them as wide as you want, depending on what you will be using them for. I made my slots 1″ apart with one larger slot. Make sure when you are making your marks that you figure in for the 1/2″ sew seam on both sides of the pocket.
It’s hard to see, but I started by measuring in 1/2″ and then measured 1″ for my slots. I ended up with 6 slots and one of them was a little larger due to my measurements.
Take a marker and draw your lines down vertically. Gather a B piece of fabric and place the pocket piece on top of the B piece of fabric. Pin in place and sew down the vertical lines to make your slots.
Your pocket piece should look similar to this one now. OK, this is where the lettering of each piece of fabric comes in handy. Gather three pieces of A, one piece of B and the B pocket piece, along with all of the terry cloth or medium weight stabilizer. Lay out all of your pieces like so with the terrycloth or medium weight stabilizer underneath each of the pieces of fabric shown. Pin the 2 pocket pieces C (C pocket pieces are the ones that you just made above with the bias tape) in place on top of the two side A pieces like below. Make sure the bottom of the C pocket pieces are even with the bottoms of the A side pieces.

Now, working with the A pocket piece and the A bottom piece pin right sides together.
Make sure you start a 1/2″ in from the edge and end a 1/2″ in from the edge. This will make it easier for the sides of the organizer line up evenly when sewing them all together. Just trust me on this one.
Sew top edge.
See? Make sure you back stitch at the beginning and the end a few times as well.
Now attach the other A pocket piece to the other side of the A bottom piece.
Your pieces should look like this now. All the A pieces are connected and the B pieces on the sides.
If you need to straighten up the edges a little bit. You want to make sure everything is kept straight.
Pin the B piece onto the A bottom piece and sew in place.
And repeat with the other B pocket piece that has the slots.
All 4 sides should be sewn in place now. (Sorry guess I forgot to take a picture of all the sides attached.)
Now it is time to sew the sides all together to make a basket. Take any two sides that are beside one another and pin right sides together. Make sure you line them up very straight starting at the bottom edge of the organizer.
Sew edge. Make sure you start and end at the edge, do not start the 1/2″ in here. Also make sure you back stitch a few times near the bottom piece. You want it to be strong, since that is going to be the bottom of your organizer.
Repeat with remaining sides by pinning and sewing in place. It does not matter which order you sew them together in.

Now you have the outside of your organizer all finished. Turn right side out.

Now it is time to make the lining of the organizer. You are going to repeat the same steps that you just did in making the outside of the organizer, but this time you are only working with the cotton pieces of fabric and no stabilizer or batting.
Gather the remaining A & B pieces and lay them out like before.
Like before, sew the bottom piece A to a side piece A.

Remember to start and stop sewing 1/2″ from the edges.

Now sew together the last A piece to the other side of the A bottom piece.

Now sew the B side pieces on.
All four sides should be sewn onto the the middle (bottom) piece now.
Should look like this now.
Begin by lining up the sides and sewing in place, like you just did with the outside of the organizer. Remember you don’t need to sew them together in any particular order.
Now you have the inside of the organizer all finished.
Place the inside of the organizer into the outside of the organizer, wrong sides facing.
Gather the rest of your bias tape. Now you are going to sew the inside and the outside of the organizer together around the top by using the bias tape.
Start by folding one edge of the bias tape in and ironing it flat. You will be working with the folded edge of the bias tape first. Pin the bias tape in place all around the top edge of organizer.
Sew bias tape in place starting at the folded edge and ending at the folded edge. Allow the unfinished edge of the bias tape to overlapp the begining folded edge of the bias tape a little.

See how I covered up the folded edge of the bias tape a little bit?

Fold bias tape up, over and under.
Pin bias tape in place
And sew. Like before, sew as close to the edge as possible.

Now gather the 2 pieces of fabric that are 17″ x 3″. It is time to make the handles.
Fold right sides together and stitch all around leaving a 2″ space in the middle for turning right side out.
Turn right side out and iron flat. Top stitch all around handle.
Sew handles in place where desired.

Attach the handles on by sewing a box to make them stronger. You can see I sewed a little spot at the top of the organizer on the bias tape to keep the handles in place better.

If you want, take and sew the handle together into itself to make them smaller. Measure up about 2″ away from edge of bag, fold edges together and stitch.
And that is it! Your finished!

I love this little organizer! Not sure what I will be storing in it yet or if I will even keep it for myself. I just couldn’t help but throw my yarn and knitting goodies in there. The colors just looked too good not too!

**Please feel free to use this tutorial for your personal sewing projects. Feel free to use any pictures, I just ask that you link back and give credit where credit is due.**
If you have any questions or comments please contact me, I would be more than happy to help you out. And remember to add your photo’s to my flickr group if you make one, I would love to see it!
Happy Sewing!

Related posts:

103 thoughts on “Organizing Tote Basket {tutorial}

  1. Chris

    OMG…. I <3 this. Now I need to find material I want to use. Lots of it. Because I'm going to screw this up at least once. (Oh ye of little faith, lol.) This is so fabulous. So, seriously fabulous. Thank you SO much for doing this for us Christina, and I hope that you are feeling better!!

    Reply

  2. Amanda

    Oh my goodness! This is a wonderful tote, and lucky for me your tutorial is so well explained. I'm going to give this ago, very adventurous for me but it's nice not to give it ago, thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  3. Our Seven Dwarfs

    Thank you so much for the tutorial! I need to make this bag for all my yarn and crochet items! Thanks!

    Jill of oursevendwarfs.com

    Reply

  4. Luci

    Thank you! You have given us all a wonderful gift with this tutorial. You did an amazing job and I plan to link to it at Thymely Stitches.

    Reply

  5. saffiertje

    YHANK YOU for this great tutorial!!! Gonna save this and make one soon… First have to find the right fabric!!!!

    Reply

  6. Erin Stomber

    I've been looking for a tutorial on a cute tote but many of them are plain. I LOVE this one! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  7. Annie

    This tutorial is amazing, it's so detailed! I've totally stolen it and (someday) I will definitely be making a bag using your tute. ;) Thanks!

    Reply

  8. Nathalie - Jardin Privé

    Thanks for this beautiful tutorial, it's real beautiful bag :-)
    You have a wonderful pincushion with hook, did you do it ? Is it a model we can buy somewhere ?
    Thansk for your answer.

    Reply

  9. Anonymous

    This is fabulous! What are the finished measurements of this bag? How wide/tall is it? I want to make it, but first need to know if the final product will be big enough. If not, would it be hard to make it bigger? (Is it obvious that I am a beginnger? LOL)

    Reply

  10. 2littlehooligans

    Hi anonymous, the finished measurements are about 7 1/2" tall and the tote is 7 1/2" wide x 9 1/2" long. You can certainly make it bigger or smaller. Just make sure that you keep the bottom of the bag and two of the sides the same measurements. also make sure that all of the sides are the same height. Does that make sense? Just let me know if you have any other questions, I will be more glad to help you out.

    Reply

  11. Terri Ann

    This is quite possibly the most detailed well explained sewing how-to I've ever seen! You make me (as a sewing novice) feel like I could really accomplish making a bag like this!

    Reply

  12. Home's Jewels

    Thank you for the great bag tutorial. I added your tutorial to our collection at the online sewing community at mysewingcircle.com (linking back to your site). You do great work!

    Reply

  13. Rachel@oneprettything.com

    Oh WOW! What a great basket and an amazing tutorial. You explain things so well and so clearly! I can't wait to make this… I know just the fabric for my new knitting tote. =) I'll be linking as well.

    Reply

  14. Siobhan aka Kiwivandal

    ok, I. LOVE. THIS. My friend just sent me your link and said I need to make this for HER birthday, I think I will be making them for everytone's birthday! Thanks so much for the easy to follow tutorial!

    Reply

  15. anne

    oh, i love this! and it would be perfect to make for gifts for my mom and mother-in-law for mother's day! now i'll just have to see if i can carve out that much sewing time before then!

    Reply

  16. erika bailey

    i so will be making this for my mom, her birthday and mothers day r the same, hope i finish it in time xD
    love your blog <3,
    erika

    la-bu-bu.blogspot.com

    Reply

  17. Miss Sews-it-all

    Hey there 2 little hooligans! We think your crafty project is awesome, and we want to share it with other sewers and quilters by featuring a link on http://www.WeAllSew.com! We’ll be featuring your project at our "Free Stuff" page all next week. Please let me know if you have any questions about being featured at WeAllSew.com. Thanks so much-Erika

    Reply

  18. va_grown

    Ohh, I can't wait to try several of your projects! Thanks for sharing this one and the casserole carrier–they are going to make great gifts!

    Reply

  19. Anonymous

    So cute! I want to make this while I'm on holiday, but I'm wondering – what size is the bias tape? I looked all through the tutorial and I hope I didn't just miss it. Thanks for your help!! – Megs

    Reply

  20. 2littlehooligans

    megs, you will need about 70" of bias tape. you can make you own or i like to use the extra wide double fold bias tape that comes in a package of 3 yards. hope this helps clarify things for you.

    Reply

  21. Anonymous

    Thanks – that helps some. Although, I was thinking more of the width – I've seen bias tape makers in 3/4", 1", 1.5", and 2" wide. It sounds like I'd need the widest one? Thanks for the prompt response! ~Megs

    Reply

  22. 2littlehooligans

    yes, i would go with a wider one. the layers are thick so if you used a bias tape that was too thin it would be harder to line up straight on the edges while sewing.

    Reply

  23. mom23

    Thank you for this! I think it's awesome and I think I'll make one as a baby doll diaper bag! How cute to put your baby doll diapers/wipes, and some store bought bottles in the different pockets, along with a sewn baby doll blanket. I just found your site and I'm so impressed with your creativity and sewing abilities. Thank you for sharing!! Julie

    Reply

  24. Anonymous

    how wide did you cut the fabric strips that you made into your own bias tape? I bought contrasting fabric for the edges, handles and lining :)

    Reply

  25. 2littlehooligans

    i think i cut my bias strips about 4 or 5" wide. i like using a wider bias tape for the bags, but any size will be fine:)

    Reply

  26. Gunn Astrid Øfsti

    Thanx for shareing yur tutorial. I have now made my own basket, and I love it. you have made a very easy step-by-step tutorial, and the basket is just lovely!!!!Thanx.

    Reply

  27. Zila

    Hi, thanks for the tutorial. I worked on it for 2 days. I am a newbie in sewing. I decided to use my Kaufman Linen and Michael Miller fabrics. My daughter said it looked lovely. Thanks again for your clear instructions.

    Reply

  28. Arnold Concini

    I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog like this one today..

    Reply

  29. Pingback: Stitchin’ from Stash Fabrics « MuddyFingersMeg

  30. Pingback: Stacy Sews - Diary of a Fabric Junkie » Blog Archive » Surprise! It’s (Early) Linky Thursday!

  31. Erica

    Thank you so much for posting this wonderful tutorial! It was so easy to follow and such a cute idea :) I turned it into an Art Tote for a 6 years old’s birthday present!

    Reply

  32. Jude

    Just finished this tote. I changed the dimensions a little to make it a little bigger. Directions were absolutely easy to read and follow. Tote turned out so cute I am cutting 4 more out for Christmas gifts for my Nurse friends. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply

  33. Pingback: Project bag / Project tas | Let's Craft!

  34. Maxine

    After looking into a number of the blog posts on your site, I truly like your way of writing a blog.
    I book-marked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back soon.

    Take a look at my website as well and let me know your
    opinion.

    Reply

  35. 7:25 AM

    Attractive part of content. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to claim that
    I acquire actually loved account your blog posts.
    Any way I’ll be subscribing for your augment or even I achievement you get right of entry to constantly rapidly.

    Reply

  36. weeklyvolcano.com

    Pretty portion of content. I just stumbled upon your weblog and
    in accession capital to claim that I acquire actually loved account your blog posts.
    Any way I’ll be subscribing for your augment and even I fulfillment you access constantly fast.

    Reply

  37. weeklyvolcano.Com

    Howdy just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in
    your article seem to be running off the screen in Opera.
    I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let
    you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the problem fixed soon.
    Kudos

    Reply

  38. hemorroides

    Hmm it looks like your website ate my first comment (it was super
    long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly
    enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any tips for inexperienced blog writers? I’d genuinely
    appreciate it.

    Reply

  39. social networks

    This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger.
    I have joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post.
    Also, I’ve shared your website in my social networks!

    Reply

  40. 2:58 AM

    When I initially commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify
    me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on each time
    a comment is added I recieve four emails with
    the exact same comment. Is there an easy method you are able to remove me
    from that service? Thanks a lot!

    Reply

  41. 3:03 AM

    Hi there, You’ve done a great job. I will certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I’m sure
    they will be benefited from this site.

    Reply

  42. Georgina

    You made some good points there. I checked on the net
    to find out more about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views
    on this website.

    Reply

  43. Launa

    If you are going for most excellent contents like me, just pay a quick visit this
    website every day as it presents feature contents,
    thanks

    Reply

  44. Chatroulette

    After I initially commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now
    every time a comment is added I get 4 emails with the same comment.

    Perhaps there is a means you are able to remove me from that
    service? Thank you!

    Reply

  45. haarausfall

    I absolutely love your blog.. Excellent colors & theme.
    Did you develop this web site yourself? Please reply back as I’m attempting to create my own personal blog and want to find out where you got this from or exactly what the theme is named. Thank you!

    Reply

  46. chatrulet

    Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Thanks, However I am having troubles with your RSS.
    I don’t know why I can’t join it. Is there anybody
    else getting similar RSS problems? Anyone that knows the answer will
    you kindly respond? Thanks!!

    Reply

  47. Walker

    I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme.
    Did you create this website yourself or did
    you hire someone to do it for you? Plz answer
    back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. thanks a lot

    Reply

  48. hämorrhoiden schwangerschaft homöopathie

    Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit
    and sources back to your webpage? My blog site is in the exact same niche as yours and
    my visitors would definitely benefit from a lot of the information you provide here.
    Please let me know if this ok with you. Thanks!

    Reply

  49. Emelia

    I will right away take hold of your rss feed as I can’t in finding your email subscription hyperlink or e-newsletter service. Do you have any? Please let me know in order that I may just subscribe. Thanks.

    Reply

  50. 1735

    Hi, I’m a writer based out of Espel, Netherlands and I discovered your site via http://www.2littlehooligans.com/2011/03/28/organizing-tote-basket-tutorial/. Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers? I’m working on beginning my own blog soon but I don’t really know where to begin. Do you think I should begin with a free site like Textpattern or shell out some cash into a pay site? There are so many options out there that I’m completely overloaded.
    .. What would you say?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.