When Mathew Boudreaux (aka Mister Domestic) throws a party, you know it’s gonna be big and fabulous!  And this Blog Party is living up to all the hype with over three weeks of amazing projects using Mathew’s debut fabric collection, Loved to Pieces.  I’m so honored to be a part of all the festivities, so I thought I would bring my new Colleen Tote along for the ride.

Loved to Pieces is a beautiful fabric collection inspired by Mathew’s love of English paper piecing and his sweet daughter’s love of florals.   I love the mix of blues and teals complemented with sharp pinks for a lot of fun.  There is a great mix of quilt cottons, rayons, and knits for all kinds of great projects. For more inspiration, you can view the look book here.

For my Colleen Tote, I wanted to go for a chic look and let the print stand on it’s own. For the exterior, I selected Mandala Drops Midnight with it’s striking and hypnotic design.  Plus, it’s a nice dark print that’s perfect for the exterior of a bag to hide any dirt or debris.  I like the linings to pop a bit, so  Pieced Bunches Cool was ideal with the gorgeous geometric florals.  The pinks in the collection are such a nice complement and I had to add a bit of Reap and Sew Light inside the zipper pocket.  Finally, the interior contrast band is Art Gallery Fabric’s Indigo Shadow Smooth Denim.

I’ve been seeing brass metal rings all over the handmade and fashion world for a little while now.  They are used in macrame weavings, dreamcatchers, floral arrangements and I saw heavy usage of this accent in handbags this past spring.  I was so inspired and I knew I had to add this unique hardware to one of my own bags.

These rings have a solid 5″ diameter and would make fantastic bag handles.  However, to use the rings as handles, I knew I couldn’t make a huge heavy bag.  So I decided to make a “shortie” version of my Colleen Tote pattern.  This entailed shortening the exterior, linings, and coordinated woven interfacings all by 3″.  The zipper pocket was then shortened by 6″ overall.

Instead of using fusible fleece, I used Soft and Stable to keep the bag more structured.  This was in order to hold the weight of the rings and to keep them upright.  The exterior had to be basted 1/4″ all around  the pattern piece to keep the fabric nice and smooth.  The Soft and Stable really  makes the bag look so polished.

Everything else in the pattern was all kept the same (minus the handles, of course.) There is still a nice roomy slip pocket for your phone and sunglasses and the zipper pocket to tuck away the essentials.  The fob is essential to keeping those keys in check!

These rings could have been stitched into place, but I opted to used leather and rivets to add more texture and interest.  The ring was first secured with the center rivet while the exterior panel was still flat and not sewn on the sides.  Once the tote was completely finished, I then added the other rivets to the left and right of the initial one.  This is why you can only see two rivets on the lining for each handle.

I added some extra leather and rivets to balance out all the hardware around the handles.  With a  nice clean exterior, I decided to add just a little more fun and to keep this bag on trend with some pom-poms and leather lacings (all using scraps from my stash of crafting goodies!)

Last, but certainly not least, is the Colleen’s bottom.  With the ring handles, this is not a bag you just sling over a chair back.  So, I make sure to take care of this lady by added some shiny shoes.  Whether the tote has to sit on another chair or (heaven forbid) the floor, she will be protected!

Project Details:

• Pattern: Colleen Tote Bag by Love You Sew (moi!)
• Fabrics: Loved to Pieces by Mister Domestic
• Interfacings: Annie’s Soft and Stable and Pellon SF101
• Handles: 5″ Metal Rings
• Zipper: 9″ YKK Metal Donut Pull from ZipIt Zippers
• Machine: Juki TL-2010Q
• Thread: Gutermann All-Purpose Poly
• Hardware : Emmaline bags

For the full Loved to Pieces Blog party line-up, check out:

• Monday July 16: Amanda Woodruff of A Crafty Fox
• Tuesday July 17: Sharon Holland of Sharon Holland Designs
• Wednesday July 18: Angela Wolf of Angela Wolf Pattern Collection
• Thursday July 19: Brittany Jones of Brittany Jones
• Friday July 20: Sharon McConnell of Color Girl Quilts
• Saturday July 21: Elina Temmes of Elina Temmes
• Monday July 23: Meghan Buchanan of Then Came June
• Tuesday July 24: Nicole Daksiewicz of Modern Handcraft
• Wednesday July 25: Cristy Stuhldreher of I Love You Sew (You are here!)
• Thursday July 26: Kate Basti of Quilt with Kate
• Friday July 27: Courtney Davis posting at Melly Sews
• Sunday July 29: Mimi Goodwin of Mimi G Style
• Monday July 30: Kim Niedzwiecki of Go Go Kim
• Tuesday July 31: Tara Curtis of Wefty Needle
• Wednesday August 1: Saija Kiiskinen of Saija Kiiskinen
• Thursday August 2: Jodi Godfrey of Tales of Cloth
• Sunday August 5: Brett Lewis of Natural Born Quilter
• Monday August 6: Karen Tripp of The DIY Addict
• Tuesday August 7: Tracy Martin of Tracy Bug Creative
• Wednesday August 8: Sharon Burgess of Lilabelle Lane Creations
• Thursday August 9: Maureen Cracknell of Maureen Cracknell Handmade
• Friday August 10: Kylie Gersekowski of Little Moo Designs

Thanks for visiting and partying with me here!  Don’t forget to head over to Mister Domestic’s Instagram feed to see how you can win a bundle of these delicious fabrics!

Happy Sewing,

Cristy

Fabric was provided for the blog post.  However, the project conception and all opinions are my own.  Please note there maybe affiliate links for which I may receive a nominal commission if you make a purchase.  This helps keep the website ticking along.  Thanks always for your continued support!