The Sidekick Tote & Megan Travel Tote Pattern Release Day!
Michelle Burke
Today is the release of my latest pattern! The Sarah Sidekick Tote and Megan Travel Tote pattern is my latest pattern with two size options. The smaller Sidekick Tote is perfect for everyday use and the larger, Megan Travel Tote is perfect for packing for a long weekend getaway!
This pattern includes 47 pages, a lot, but I also have included instructions to help you decide which pages you need to print and suggestions for printing to reduce paper waste. The Sarah Sidekick and Megan Travel Tote pattern includes a table of contents, a list of all the fabric cuts for each tote, step-by-step instructions for making the totes, pattern pieces for all the cuts that are not rectangles, labels to keep your fabric pieces organized, and finished pictures of several totes.
The Megan Travel Tote is on the left and the Sidekick Tote is on the right.
The totes in these pictures were made out of quilting cotton throughout. Fusible fleece gives these totes a nice structure, but one of my testers used Flex Foam for the front, back, sides and bottom of her tote giving it an even more sturdy feel. The pictures of the tote made by Paula Faes with Flex Foam are in my last blog post (Sunday, October 11). The pattern includes yardage amounts needed to either use Fusible fleece or Flex Foam for the interfacing for the exterior parts of the totes.
I like the look of the exterior slip pockets on this tote. They are made with an accent fabric - a slight variation from the way the pattern is written, but it shows you that there are different ways to add your own signature to this pattern.
I love how the front zipper can either be an fun accent or less noticeable depending on what color zipper you choose to use. The piping in an accent color really shows off the soft curve at the top of the four exterior slip pockets.
I think those mountains behind this Megan Travel Tote are calling! I think they are calling me! This pattern was a huge undertaking, so I might just have to pack up for a weekend getaway! ;)
The picture below really shows the difference in size between the smaller, paisley Sidekick Tote and the larger, Megan Travel Tote.
The top of these totes closes with a separating zipper. It is great to keep everything contained, yet when it is open, the top zipper placket can be moved completely out of your way to make it easy to get things in and out of the tote. A separating zipper is no more difficult to install than a regular zipper and if anything, I think it is in some ways easier!
The picture below shows another Sidekick Tote, actually the one I made while taking pictures along the way for this pattern. There are over 100 pictures within the instruction part of this pattern to help you understand each step. There are even more pictures some of my testers' totes at the end of the pattern for inspiration.
Here is a link to my Etsy shop, where you can purchase the Sidekick Tote & Megan Travel Tote pattern: Uniquely Michelle Etsy shop
You can use the following link to find this pattern on Craftsy: Sidekick Tote & Megan Travel Tote pattern on Craftsy