This month's Island Batik challenge is my favorite annual challenge: a bag made with a pattern By Annie. We got to pick out a By Annie pattern as well as fabrics of our choice from the most recent batch of Island Batik collections. I've loved By Annie patterns since my first bag, made for a 2020 Island Batik challenge. Since then, I've made a whole lot of By Annie patterns and I love them all! I chose Totally Trendy Totes II for this year's challenge. This is one of Annie's older patterns, so I had to get permission from Annie herself to make this one for my Island Batik challenge.
I made a video showing off the totes and walking through some of the things I did a little differently, as well as showing the features of the tote.
Totally Trendy Totes has directions for totes in three sizes. The smallest is actually called Medium, and then there is Large and Extra Large. I was sent all the supplies needed to make the bags. If we were making more than one bag, we were encouraged to use multiple fabric collections. I picked out fabrics from Flower Pot for two of the bags and Daisy May for the third bag. I picked out Flower Pot fabrics before Jennifer Fulton asked me to participate in the blog hop for her signature line, so I got an extra dose of these beautiful fabrics!
My original plan was to make one bag in each of the three sizes. I made the medium first, which feels like a pretty standard tote bag size. Then I made the large in the blue and pink Flower Pot fabrics. It felt huge! I didn't think I'd use a bag bigger than the large. I even had an impromptu family meeting and we decided that the large was plenty big for us, that we wouldn't use something bigger, and that the extra large would probably be too heavy to carry if we filled it. So instead of making an extra large with my Daisy May fabrics, I made a second large. I'm very happy with all of them!
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| What they look like full. They hold a lot! |
Annie calls for 3 fabrics for each bag but of course you can use more. There is a slip pocket on each side of the outside. I like my pockets to each be different, so I used additional fabrics for the second pocket on each bag. For the pink & blue bag, I cut a daisy with my Accuquilt & Daisy die from other Flower Pot fabrics and appliqued it on the pockets. It's my favorite pocket!
As I mentioned, this is an older By Annie pattern. That means it does not have the features that the newer patterns have, meaning no easy-to-print sheet of labels for pieces to cut out and no add-on video for the more difficult steps. I've gotten spoiled with her newer patterns and the extra features! She does update a few of her older patterns each year, so Totally Trendy Totes may get an update at some point.
This is honestly one of the most straightforward and easiest of her patterns that I've made. The only tricky part is the recessed zipper. While there is no add-on video, Annie did cover her method for a recessed zipper on one of her Live with Annie sessions, now available to view on youtube. It's the week 39 video and the recessed zipper part starts around minute 46:30. Her walk-through of the process was really all I needed. If you want a more in-depth look at making the bag in its entirety, the maker Quilt Passion has a series of videos on the entire construction, but the videos are not in English. The visual was still nice to have as reassurance. (I'm pretty sure the videos are in Swedish, though it may be Dutch. It's a Germanic language but is not German. My husband was very confused as to why I was watching videos in a language I do not understand!)
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| recessed zipper |
One thing I like about Annie's patterns is that once you understand her techniques, you can add features from different bags. Totally Trendy Totes has two external slip pockets, one on each side of the bag. I wanted to add a zipper to one slip pocket so I would have a more secure option. Other bags of Annie's feature a zippered pocket, so I used methods from other bags. I have honestly done it enough I could do it from memory, but I did pull out my Out & About pattern from last year's Island Batik/By Annie challenge and double checked the direction for that front zippered pocket.
I also added a short strap with a D-ring to the top of the inside of each bag, as a place to hook my keys. A commercially made bag I have has a similar ring and I have found it really helpful not to have to dig for my keys, so I used Annie methods from other bags for attaching a D ring and made a nice key fob. I love being able to add touches that make my bags useful for me and how I will use them!
The best part of By Annie bags, other than Annie's fantastically thorough directions, is the Soft & Stable. It helps bags keep their shape. I use an Elmer's disappearing purple glue stick to adhere the fabric on either side of the Soft & Stable before quilting with Aurifil Thread and Schmetz needles. I feel very fancy when I use my Oliso iron to get the fabric wrinkle-free before layering it on the Soft & Stable.
I am usually so excited to make my By Annie bag that I do that as soon as the boxes that include my supplies arrive! This year, I really wanted these totes for my family vacation to the beach. I had the bag fabrics in the washer within 24 hours of my July box arriving and I started on the bag within 28 hours! I do not usually pre-wash my fabrics for quilts, but I do pre-wash for bags.
I really love my totes and have been using them since I made them in July. The colors are so bright and fun! It's a fabulous pattern. Thanks to Island Batik and By Annie for all the fabric and supplies to make these beautiful bags!
