Today, is the fourth installment of the Bucket Tote Sewalong. In this video, I’ll show you how to stitch the pleats, assemble the body of the bag and topstitch the handles. The handles and pleats are key features of the design of the Bucket Tote, from both a functional and style perspective. The pleats create the shape of the bag—narrower at the bottom than the top. The handles are topstitched to the exterior of the bag and anchored into the bottom for security and to show off the center exterior pockets.

Today, is the third installment of the Bucket Tote Sewalong. Last week, we sewed the zippered welt pocket for the regular size tote and today we’ll sewing the patch pockets. There are two styles of patch pocket in this pattern. First, we’ll sew the traditional patch pocket, which is on the inside of the small tote. This pocket is folded in all sides and then stitched in place. The second style of patch pocket we’re making is the exterior pocket, which is anchored into the seams on the sides and bottom. In the video, I share all of my tips and techniques for sewing these pockets with accuracy and ease.

Today, I’m excited to share the second installment of the Bucket Tote Sewalong. Last week, we selected fabric and prepared for sewing and today we can start stitching. The instruction booklet that comes with the pattern uses line drawing illustrations and written instructions so for the sewalong, I like to share a video of the process. In the video, I talk through all the steps and provide extra tips and info that would be too cumbersome to include in the instructions.

In this part, we’ll be sewing the welt zippered pocket for the Regular Size tote. You can use this same technique to sew a welt zippered pocket anywhere you want one. The cool and scary thing about sewing this style of pocket is that you have to cut a hole in the middle of your fabric. The pocket fabric acts as both a facing for the opening and the pocket bag and when completed, the pocket bag is hidden inside the bag and only the zipper will be visible. It can feel very daunting to sew but if you take it one step at a time, it’s not too hard.