Making the Tote Part Two

OK... I have sewn the clipped edges, 1/4" in, as described in the French Seam section. Note that I stitched around the exposed corners of the end piece.	OK, again... The second end is clipped in place for the 1/4" seam to be sewn.
Here is a good shot of the 1/4" seam being sewn. Note that is it sewn from the "up" side, so you can see what happens when you hit the corner. (Note: Machine used is a 201 treadle)	Here is the tote, right side out, with the strap sewn on, and the first part of the french seams sewn on, attaching the ends.
Tote has been turned inside out and the flaps tucked through the corner openings. (Again, refer to the French Seam section pictures for an additional shot at understanding.)	Fabric has been worked out to the edges of the seams and we are ready to stitch the second french seam stitch.
OK... the second stitch line is sewn. Note that it meets the corner opening right at the corner of the gap. this one could actually be a tiny, tiny bit further in..	Tote has been turned back right side out and I am now in the process of turning down the top hem. You can see a faint pencil line running across the fabric. That is the line that I have drawn 5 1/2" down from the top. I am going to fold over and crease on that line. As I come to the corners, where the french seam is thick, I twist the seam as shown, so that when folded over, the two parts butt, rather than lap. This will create a neater appearance. Once I had folded and creased, I sewed a seam about 1/4" from the top, all the way around, except that I skipped the folded seams. In essence, I sewed four seams... one on each end and one on each side, starting at the folded french seam and going to the next one, then stopping. (Backstitch each start and each ending. From a strength standpoint, there really is no need to stitch over the seams at these points, and they are very thick and difficult.
After sewing teh seam 1/4" down from the top, I folded under the bottom 1 1/2" of the top edge and then stitched around again 1/4" from the bottom edge of the now folded over 2" top hem. This created a nice appearance. At this point, I kind of took a wild hair and and, since the whole top was now stitched down nice and flat, tried stitching across the seams on each corner, mostly just to see how the 201 did. It did it, though it did miss a stitch or two, but it looks nice. Here you see the essentially finished tote.	And here is the finished tote with a hard bottom added. I cut a piece of 1/8" plywood (called "door skin") to 9" X 20", slightly smaller than my finished size. This adds strength and stability to the tote, and makes it easier to fit the machine in.
What we'ver been working toward... the case in the tote.	Another view, as it would look waiting to be picked up.

Special Note: Treadle Annie's made a suggestion about putting wheels on this bag. It's actually a pretty good idea if you want to avoid most of the carrying/lifting. Instead of 1/8" ply, use 1/2" for the bottom and put small casters on it. Do get the heavy duty rubber tired ones though, not cheap plastic. Those wear out in minutes if you haul on pavement. About 1" or 1 1/2" diameter wheels should do it. Use two swivel casters on one end and two non-swivel ones on the other and add a pulling strap on the swiveled end and you can teach it to "heel". If putting the casters on, reinforce the corners where they will be screwed on with an extra layer of canvas, and use a 1/4" wood block between the caster and the tote bag bottom, so that the strain is not just going to the points where the caster screws go in.

All right! There you have it, a tote specifically designed to be strong enough to carry sewing machines. I hope you make a success of the project. It isn't the easiest one we've put up on TO, but it sure should be useful.

The Captain