Pattern Review: 241 Tote

By April

I have been on a bag making kick. It has been a great adventure so far. The Zippy Bag and Super Tote were the first two. I enjoyed the Super Tote so much that I wanted to give Noodlehead patterns another go. Here we are with the 241 Tote. 

I was immediately drawn to the shape of this bag. The curved lines give it a comfortable and casual feel.  

 

 Noodlehead pattern 241 tote front sleeve. Notice the multiple options in this photo. Exterior zipper pockets in the middle section or side exterior pockets. All the pattern requirements are the same for the different pieces of the bag, a half yard of each. You can change your mind on the arrangement if you aren’t sure ahead of time.

 A shot of the pattern sleeve back.

I used Essex linen for the gray and turquoise pieces on this bag. The main body of the bag is a Japanese canvas weight fabric. The interior is a quilting weight cotton from Andover. When choosing the exterior weight of this bag I wanted some more substantial weight for stability. This choice gave the bag some good body and helped it keep a nice shape, less droopy than it could of been. 

I like to cut out all my pattern pieces and then the interfacing. I used Stacy shape flex for my interfacing, as per usual. This is a glance at my prepared pieces ready to sew. Cutting out the pieces and fusing all interfacing was an evenings worth of work. 

Below is a glimpse into the inside of my finished 241 tote. 

The pockets are all lined. The inside pockets are nice and big, almost the total length of the bag itself. There are some additional outer pocket options for this bag that are pretty cool. I opted to do the side pocket version of this bag.

I made the strap a bit longer than what the pattern called for. I like to wear my bags across my body and not always just over the shoulder.  A note about the strap: in the directions there is reference to adding a canvas or extra layer of heavy duty fabric to the inside of this piece. I just used Linen and interfacing, but keep this detail in mind if you choose a non heavy weight for that particular piece. 

This tote is hanging out at the shop, come on by and try it on!