Custom “fill in the blank” tote

I had a request for a bag that a 3-year-old child could be involved in “designing”.

Mary wanted to purchase a bag for her daughter and have her granddaughter add some artwork to it.  She said that she had some fabric that she wanted me to use in the construction of the bag and that she would sew on some patches later with her granddaughter’s drawings.

When I went to pick up her fabric, I realized it was a heavy weight fabric, like I would use on the inside of one of my totes.

I suddenly had a brilliant idea.  I would use her fabric on the inside of the bag.

The next day, I brought selections of a few different color combinations to show Mary.  She chose the one you see in the photos, and I created a patchwork bag that included several patches of white fabric.  She could purchase some fabric markers and guide her granddaughter in adding artwork before she gave the bag to her daughter.  It would save her the trouble of sewing on patches later.

The bag includes “blank canvas” patches of various sizes, and I was sure to include one that would be large enough for a 3-year-old’s handprint (I used my 4-year-old as a model. Handy that I had one of those around!)

There’s plenty of room for drawings on the front and more on the back!

The bag has a small accessories pocket for all those small things the recipient wants to find easily.

I’ve requested a photo of this bag when it’s “finished” with the art embellishments.  This was a fun project for me, I can’t wait to see the final version.