Summer Time, so let’s try to make living easier. Whether the fish are jumping or not, we can use a cotton or maybe canvas bag, to make an inexpensive custom tote which is good looking when dad, or mom, or the kids need a convenient way to tote some stuff. (I hear some music in my head…….)

If this bag is going to be a gift for your child’s teacher, how about filling it with a few items for her/his summer break: Sunscreen, magazine, water bottle, snacks.

You can make or buy a tote bag – your choice.

Supplies:
Canvas tote bag
Heat n’ Bond Heavy (No sewing needed)
Scraps of fabric

1. I used stencils to create my letters, but you can use a Silhouette Cameo, if you have one, to cut the fabric letters.

2. Trace your letters onto the Heat n’ Bond.  Important – make sure you trace them BACKWARDS. Make sure the Heat n’ Bond is the heavy or NO SEW kind so it will have the stronger adhesive.
3. If you are going to use one piece of fabric for all of the letters, you can leave them together on the Heat n’ Bond.  Otherwise, group the letters based on the fabric to be used either when you trace them on the Heat n’ Bond or before fusing the Heat n’ Bond to the backside of the appropriate fabric.
4. Following the instructions on the package – fuse the Heat n’ Bond to the backside of the fabric(s).

5. Cut each letter on the traced outline. DO NOT CUT where there are closely spaced lines from parts that hold the stencil together. Cut and remove all completely inside areas of a letter (if any). For the ‘E’ above, DO NOT cut off the top and bottom ‘legs’ of the ‘E’ even though there are gaps in the top and bottom leg outlines. There is an inside area in the ‘R’ to remove. B, D, O, P, Q, and R are the letters that typically have inside areas.  If you choose a fancy font, you may encounter a different set of letters with inside areas. If you use lower case letters, don’t forget that ‘pesky’ dot for the ‘i’ and ‘j’.
6. Remove the paper liner from the backside of each letter.
7. Fuse the letters to the tote following the directions on the Heat n’ Bond package.

Your tote is now ready to use.