My Winter Backpack & Carryall

After I finished my newest tutorial, The Zippered Bag Strap, I had a great new zippered strap with no bag to attach it to!  I knew I could whip up something fast on my own but instead I grabbed Handmade Style by Anna Graham and started cutting out the Double Zip Wallet and Gingham Tote patterns.

The unique zippered section on the front of this tote is what drew me to this pattern first (there is also a rounded version).  But me being me, I decided to personalize it to suit my needs and change a few things. Here’s what I did:

The first alteration I made to my tote was to quilt the exterior panels. Just simple horizontal lines every 3/4″.  The original includes a long cross-body strap, small handles, and a magnetic closure.  I left those out and used the strap I made in my tutorial. The addition of a zippered closure was key for me as I plan to use this as a backpack a majority of the time.

With all that done I took out my new strap and stitched it onto the back of the bag about 2″ from the zipper and centered.  Once the end was stitched on, I covered it with a strip of fabric and quilted it as well.

Once the backstrap was on I finished up the pattern and started on the Double Zip Wallet.  I was running low on my accent and lining fabric (Amy Butler’s Violette Line) but had enough to make a patchy version.

The main fabric in both the Gingham Tote and Double Zip wallet is Robert Kaufman’s Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in Black.  You can find it as well as a few other colors in my Etsy Shop.

The quilting added very little time and I love the results. After using it for a few days now I am not-so-secretly wondering how this wallet would look supersized! Imagine how much more I could cram in it!