Canvas Tote to Wine Bag

Everyone has those small canvas tote bags sitting around that you got from somewhere.  And they are just too small for using for your groceries and just not cute enough to use as a daily carrying bag!  

I found this original idea from Infarrantly Creative.

This took me less than 30 minutes and cost me nothing!  I just used an old tote that has been sitting around serving no purpose.  I had the chicken fabric left from my Apron Tutorial; so all in all this project cost me nothing extra than what I had on hand!

Materials:
-canvas tote
-scrap fabric {I used a piece 33 inches long and 6 inches wide; the length you need will depend on the size of bag you use; also the strip doesn't have to go all the way around (I just wanted to cover up the precious stitching that was on the bag.)}, you could also make this as thick or thin as you want; several ribbons might be cool too!
-coordinating thread
-sewing pins
-sewing machine
-fabric marking pen, optional
-iron and ironing board, optional

Process:
1. Fold over and iron the sides of the scrap fabric in about 1/4 inch on both long sides.

2. Fold over and iron the ends, I folded the corners at an angle so that the folded part wouldn't stick out when you look at the right side.

3. Pin the strip into place all the way around the bag.

The back, you can see the seam.

4. Sew around the edge of the fabric; I started with the bottom edge near the seam, went around the bag, up the seam and then around the top edge.

This is what the seam looked like.

5. Now to make the separation for the wine bottles, measure the middle of the bag.  Draw a line or dotted line down the center to about 2 inches from the bottom of the bag.

The bottom dot is my stopping point.

6. Set your sewing machine to a stitch you like; I used #4 in the very bottom row.

7. Stitch through both sides of the bag {I didn't pin it}, stitching from the top to your bottom marked point (about 2 inches from the bottom of the bag), and I turned around and stitched back up to the top to ensure I had a really good hold.

This is what mine looked like...

I put a couple bottles of wine in it; the sections were a little bigger than I wanted, so the bottles moved around too much.

So...
8. I decided to add some stitching on both sides of the bag too!
Measure and mark where you want to sew; I did about 1 inch in from each side and once again about 2 inches from the bottom of the bag.

9. Stitch in the same way you did the center seam; I had to use a different color of thread (I ran out of the other one).

10. Done!  In less than 30 minutes; a customized wine bag to take with you when you travel or to give to the host of your holiday events.  Enjoy!