Very large tote bag

I love piecing faux leather!

I use the walking foot when sewing faux leather;I have 3 or 4 types of faux leather and on some it works better than on other.
And because the seams can’t be pressed with an iron, I stitch down the seam allowances to keep the seams open.

And here is the very large bag I made for the new mom in our family- my niece.

Last year I made this one for my sister Nico and it’s so spacious and useful. Clothes for a few days, many toys and even the favorite blanket of my nephew fit comfortably in there, when he comes for a visit.

When the new bag was FINISHED, I noticed the straps were too “heavy” and wide (2”) for the body of the bag (the faux leather was heavier than the one used on the bag above).

I said:”OK! That’s it, there is nothing I can do about it! Hello! It’s faux leather! You can’t remove stitched from faux leather, there will be lots of permanent holes!” and I went to bed still thinking that I would better make another bag than to redo the straps!

So the next day I woke up with the only desire to stay in bed and watch “The Mentalist” ALL DAY LONG!
But I just couldn’t! I don’t why, maybe because it is a gift and I can’t gift something I am not entirely happy with! But what helped even more I think it was the thought that when everything is done, “The Mentalist” will be my reward.

So I started to rip out all the top stitching, I made another straps and I finished the bag in about one hour. The “reward” thing worked its magic! Have you tried it yet?

The bag looks much better and I am the only one able to see a few holes in faux leather.

Happy sewing!