Sewing 2: My First Big Project: Marketplace Tote Bag (Sat, Feb 8, 12-4 pm)

Make your very own tote bag to take to the grocery store, farmer’s market, or anywhere else a reusable bag is handy! This basic pattern is a great opportunity to sew a more complex project, learn about lining, and discover how to create variations for future tote bags. Soon you’ll be making one for all your friends and family!

• Level 2: Students should be able to use their sewing machine (thread, wind bobbins, use straight and zigzag stitches) and have completed at least 1 project previously
• Ages: Adults
• Instructor: Kathleen Barth
• Class Dates: Sat. Feb 8, 12-4 pm
• Location: 330 High St., Holyoke, MA

Required Materials: 

• Sewing Machine*
• 3/4 yard of main fabric (light canvas or quilting cotton, not anything too light or slippery)
• 5/8 yard of lining fabric (quilting cotton)
• Matching thread - cotton or polyester
• Machine needle for medium weight woven fabrics (suggest universal 90/14, preferably Schmetz or Gutterman)
• Empty bobbins that fit your machine
  

*If a student doesn’t have a sewing machine or isn’t able to bring one, Paper City Fabrics has a select number of studio machines available to reserve on a first come, first served basis.

Recommended Tools: 

• Glass head pins
• Clear ruler with ⅛” markings
• Sewing scissors or rotary cutter
• Thread snips or embroidery scissors
• Seam ripper
• Fabric marking pen or chalk
• Seam gauge
  

Paper City Fabrics has all recommended tools available in the classroom for students to use, but students are encouraged to bring a sewing kit if they have one. 

About the Instructor
Kathleen Barth has been sewing since she was a pre-teen and her mother got tired of her increasingly elaborate costume requests. She focuses on garment sewing, especially in the plus size category. She worked as a sewing tutor for the past 5 years before moving from Los Angeles to Western Massachusetts.