I made one of these totes for a little birthday gift and it was quick and easy. You can even include a coordinating crayon roll.
I purchased the totes awhile ago (okay years ago and found them in the "great craft room clean-up") at Wal-Mart. I am not sure if they still carry them. I have seen similar totes at Hobby Lobby. You can use this machine applique technique to embellish t-shirts, onesies for babies, aprons......
All you need is Lightweight Heat n' Bond Lite, a tote and a tiny bit of fabric.
I am happy to share the letter templates I used. Please leave a comment with the letters you would like and I will work on getting those uploaded first!
Trace your letter onto the paper (smooth) side of the HeatnBond Lite. The letter must be reversed. Following the HeatnBond instructions, iron it to the wrong side of the fabric that you want to applique to the tote.
Cut out letter and peel off the paper.
There is now adhesive on the back (wrong) side of the letter. Flip the letter over and it is ready to go.
Again following package instructions, iron your letter to the tote bag. Keep the letter towards the top so you are able to easily sew with the sewing machine.
Machine stitch around the letter. You can also hand stitch around the letter. A blanket stitch looks cute!
I used fray check around the edges to keep the fabric from fraying. You might decide to let the edges fray-----it looks good too!
Finished! It is so quick and you have a really useful gift.
Thanks for taking the time to visit me today!
Those look fun, and the best thing about buying something and then forgetting about it for years is that now it’s stash, and using it has become a virtuous thing!
Not to mention seemingly simple too! By the looks of it, I would say my oldest daughter (8) would be able to help with this project. Thanks for sharing it!
Fabulous idea! Love it! Thanks for sharing.
I use a simple zig-zag stitch for appliques (I call it a cheater’s satin stitch!) and it works beautifully, and even lasts through all the laundering that the item may have to endure. I do love the effect that the machine stitch offers, too! Thanks for sharing!
Also, your readers will have a plethora of fonts if they just open up their Word program, type a letter, pick a font, enlarge the letter and print it out!
I am not a seamstress BUT I do think I could tackle this project! You gave great directions and it seems pretty easy to do. I’d love to have A for Anna. Thanks for sharing.
Very cute! I’ll take a letter M please! Love that font choice.
So cute! Really fresh and crisp. I love the dotted fabric!
I’ve been going through a phase of personalizing things with embroidery, applique, and other methods (including some totes you can see on my blog!) so this one hits close to home. Thanks for sharing!
Lovely and super easy project!!!! Love it!
Thanks for sharing the idea!
Wow I love all you great ideas! I’m not a crafty person, but I love to try! Thank you for all the ideas, and SIMPLE directions! I love reading your blog!!! I would love an H, L, and an O. Thank you again so much!!!
Love the bag! I also have some I purchased about a year ago. They were on clearence and I thought oh, I’ll use this for something! I would like to get the letter L, if possible? Thanks!
http://www.bowsbagsandthingsboutique.blospot.com
http://www.princesitascloset.blogspot.com
I love this idea. I’ve made similar bags here:
http://rainytuesdaymornings.blogspot.com/2008/09/very-hungry-caterpillar-bag.html
and here:
http://rainytuesdaymornings.blogspot.com/2008/09/quiet-bag-for-church.html
BTW – I just LOVE your blog and have made SEVERAL ideas from your site!
Love this — Could I have a T for my goddaugher and an E for my daughter. Thank you for sharing!
I love your site! I have identical twin grandsons that are having their “1st” birthday party on Satureday. I was planning on making them inital t shirts so people can tell them apart. How lucky to pop in today and see this post! I would love the letter J for Jace, and a Q for Quinn! Thanks so much!
Cute stuff, as per usual! Thanks!
Love , love . love your blog. So many fabulous ideas and I use them all the time. I especially love your paper crafts and cones. How was this years Valentines party. I can’t wait to see the pics!
E, J and K please!!!
Hey there
I love your cute project ideas, I would see myself spending some money at JoAnn’s Fabric store after visiting your blog. I’d love to have the letters S and J please.
I love the material you use for the monogram!
This is a cute project that I am sure my youngest daughter would love as well.
It just may have to be a mommy and daughter weekend coming up.
Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful! Could you post a D, J, & K please.
I like your font and anytime you can cut your work (enen be a few minutes) it’s a blessing.
LOVE< LOVE, LOVE this! I’m bookmarking this page for when I get time!! How about K and M?
WalMart does still carry the bags and actually has a lot more choices than they used to. Hobby Lobby will also put their bags 1/2 off quite often. Would work on aprons too.
Loving it! I am so enjoying your site! We’re moving back to a town that has Hobby Lobby, oh how I have missed that store!
Ah, I think I can do this!!
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much! I did my first applique right before Christmas and had the most difficult time finding a letter that I liked that wasn’t too difficult to stitch around. Thanks for providing these! I will most definitely use them in the future.
Looks absolutely darling! Also looks simple enough for me to try…I’m nervous about anything sewing related. Maybe I’ll try!
Thank you your things are wonderful, can we have a P?
Cute, cute! A and E would be great
Also, how did you sew all the way around w/o being able to turn the bag completely around at the bottom? Does that make sense? I guess I just need to try it….I’ve wanted to embellish my girls’ jeans before, but just couldn’t figure out how on earth I’d work with a skinny jean leg on the sewing machine when it was so narrow. The bag doesn’t have an opening on the bottom so I’m not sure how I’d manage to sew all the way around so neatly, if at all…can you tell I’m a fairly novice sewer? Thanks!
Very easy to do, I must try this for my daughter’s jean purse I’m making for her birthday! Thanks for the idea!
oh my goodness, i think this is the best tutorial for applique i have seen! very straight forward and basic, THANK YOU!!! i would love to see F and R. many blessings
HOW CUTE!!! I had no idea how to do that till now! Thank you!
Nice job. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.
It looks like you’ll be doing the entire alphabet eventually — tee hee — but I’d like to request a “U” and an “R” for some projects I have in mind. Thanks for doing all the work and sharing it. I love this idea and see lots of applications (excuse the pun) for it.
Oh these are great!I want to spell out my nieces entire name on a fabric backing and then frame it for her bedroom! I’d take a ‘ y ‘ when you get a chance… all the other letters are there already (maddy). Thanks for these clever ideas.
This is great! I’ve made two tote bags for my daughter for two years of preschool and when she goes to Kindergarten, I want to fancy-up : ) a canvas tote bag for her. This will be perfect. Thanks for the idea.
How FUN! Thanks! I would LOVE p, y, i ,r
thank you thank you for all your ideas. i love you website and have gotten so many great ideas from it. i have been wanting some letter templates so this is great. i love that you are so willing to share your brilliant ideas with us. thank you thank you.
I have been looking for letter templates to do this for a t-shirt for my daughter’s swim team – these are perfect!! I still need a Y please. Love your website!!!!
I just took an applique class! I would love it, if you could put up an I. My little girl, Isabella, needs one!
FUN!!! we can put that on EVERYTHING!!!
is it possible for you to do a W? thanks so much – love it
[...] Skip to my Lou breaks down the process of using a fabric scrap to make a simple applique monogram. I’ve saved all of our plain onesies just for this purpose, I think they’ll make sweet baby gifts in the future. [...]
Thank you very much for the idea! This such a great way to personalize anything, and very easily.
I also like Tracey’s idea about the zig zag stitch, this could add a really cute touch.
I absolutley love your font!!!! Could you please add g and n for me? Thanks!!!
I really hate to ask, but I thought these would be cute done on pillow tops for ladies in my bible study…….and I am missing the W! I would certainly appreciate it. Thanks!
What a cute tutorial. Is there any way I could get a V? Thanks.
What a great idea!. I want to make my nieces and gransdon a bag with their initial. I think they would look good on throw pillows, pillowcases, or small personal quilts. I love all of your ideas. Thanks so much.
Thanks!!
This would be a great idea for a kids room. Could you post an X and Z please
These are great! Thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas with us. . . Can you please post a ‘Z’, my little girl would love one of these bags with her name.
Thanks for the awesome idea. I made a similar one, blogged about it and posted a link back here. Thanks so much for all the inspiration!
http://threegirlsandheathersguy.blogspot.com/2009/04/library-tote.html