Tutorial Review: Ruffle Tote

I've been reading a new blog the past couple of days called Mommy by day...Crafter by Night, which is where I found this tutorial for a ruffle pocket tote.  So last night I went over to a friend from my (new) crafting circle's house and sewed a ruffle pocket tote for myself!

I really like the way it turned out, although the ruffle and the pocket were too thick for me to be able to put my presser foot down without it getting jammed, so the top of my ruffle is a little bit wonky.  See?

I've never been that great at sewing down ruffles.  Tips, anyone?  Anyway, hopefully no one will notice the drunken sailor stitch, as I like to call it!

The inside of the bag, the straps and the ruffle are all made from a striped fabric.  I love the way the two look together even though I got really frustrated trying to find a fabric that matched this floral print while I was in Jo-Ann's.

So now I'm going review the tutorial!  I know, right?!  It's been a long time since I've done one of these.  You can follow me after the break to get the review!

 

Accuracy:  10

Clarity of Directions:  7.5

Helpfulness of Pictures:  9

Difficulty:  6.5

Time: ~1 hour

Overall Rating: 9

Recommended

Details:

The Ruffle Tote tutorial from Mommy by day... Crafter by Night was a great tutorial.  Totes are usually easy-as-pie to make, and this one was no exception.  However, you'll notice I only gave this tutorial a 7.5 for clarity of directions.  This isn't to say that the tutorial was bad.  Quite the opposite, really!  My only reason for giving it a slightly lower rating on clarity if for two reasons. 

First, if you're not already equipped with a few basic skills (ruffling/gathering in particular), you can't complete this tutorial without the help of Google.  Since I knew all the basic skills involved, I had absolutely no problem with the tutorial, but if you're a beginning sewer I'd recommend you make sure you learn how to gather/ruffle before you begin!

The second reason I gave clarity a 7.5 is because of the way the tutorial was laid out.  Maybe it's just me, but I prefer to cut all my fabric first and then do all my sewing.  This tutorial instructed you to cut your fabric pieces as needed throughout the tutorial.  It wasn't much of a problem since this is a simple tote (and I actually went through the tutorial and cut out my fabric first, still), but it was just a little bit odd to see it laid out that way.  Not a big deal, really! :)

The bag turned out very heavy-weight when finished because of the double layers of home-weight fabric and the interfacing inside.  It's also a lot larger than I would have imagined based on the pictures and can fit my whole laptop!  (Of course, if you're going to carry something like a laptop you might want to add some reinforcing to the straps!)  The pocket is also nice and roomy, and even though I cut my pocket only 6x6 instead of the recommended 9x9, it still fits my iPhone and keys.  So, great sized tote! :)

I love my bag and will be taking it with me today to a book group later today.  I would definitely recommended this tutorial to anyone, without a doubt!  So hop to it! :)

Happy crafting and thanks for reading!

--CC