This place mat tote is a useful and simple sewing project for teens to complete. It’s great for carrying books and is budget friendly.
To make this tote bag for teens, you will need:
Woven place mat
Handbag handle
Bling embellishment
Liquid stitch
Needle and cross stitch floss
Sewing machine with thread
Center the handle and mark where you need to stitch. Using three strands of thread from the cross stitch floss, hand stitch the handles on the seams of the place mat. Be sure the handle is down far enough that you can’t see the thread from the other side, but high enough that the place mat won’t curl over when you are carrying your tote. Repeat for the other side.
Note: The handles are being sewn to the inside of the tote bag. To check to see if you are doing this correctly, the handles should touch if you fold the place mat in half.
Pin the sides of the place mat together and machine stitch shut.
The gem embellishment should be easily attach with it’s own adhesive but since you are attaching it to the bumpy surface of the woven place mat, you may want to add some liquid stitch to allow it to grab on to the material better.
You can use almost any type of place mat, including plastic which works great for holding wet things like bathing suits. Or try and make the handles can be made out of cloth or ribbon for even more variations.
