Embroidery Library Urban Threads The Study

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Go Green Tote

Go Green Tote

Go green with a reusable grocery tote! This sturdy bag features long straps for carrying all your market goodies, and is easy to wash, making it perfect to use time and time again.

Supplies & Materials:

- Eyelet tool

- Hammer

- Air-erase pen for marking

- Craft knife and cutting pad

-Temporary spray adhesive (such as Gunold KK100)

- 7/16" eyelets

- 1 1/8 yards (total) solid color canvas (1 yard for front, back and bottom; 1/8 yard for straps)

- 1/2 yard print canvas for sides

-Medium-weight (2.5 ounce) cutaway stabilizer

- 9 yard extra-wide double-fold bias tape (6 yards for tote; 3 yards for straps)

- 14" x 7" piece of foam board or heavy cardboard (foam board can be found at craft or fabric stores)


The designs used in this tutorial include:

- A Fruit Cocktail Design Pack - Lg

Begin by preparing the fabric for the front and back panels of the bag.

Cut two pieces of the solid color canvas to 16 1/2" x 16 1/2".

Mark the center of the square.

Hand with a blue fabric pen marking a small dot near the center of a square piece of plain white fabric laid on a wood surface, with a metal ruler below.

A template is a printout of a design, and it's an excellent tool to plan where to stitch. Print a template of the design using embroidery software.

If you do not have software, you can also cut out a piece of paper the size of your design to use as a way to place where you'd like your design to be.


Trim around the templates to make them more manageable.

Arrange them on the fabric until they are where you want to stitch them.

In this example, three designs will be used. The centers are lined up with the center of the fabric, and there is equal space between the designs.

Mark the center points of each design, as well as the vertical and horizontal axis lines.

Three white paper templates with pencil sketches of stylized fruit faces—a pear, an apple, and two apples—pinned on beige fabric over a wooden surface, with a pen nearby.

Remove the templates and draw lines connecting the horizontal and vertical axis points. These lines will be used for hooping.

White fabric with purple grid lines marked using a pen, featuring three vertical columns and a horizontal row, hand holding pen on right side.

Hoop the fabric with a piece of cutaway stabilizer to embroider the first design.

When hooping, line up the marks on the fabric with the marks on the hoop.

Empty embroidery hoop placed on off-white fabric marked with purple grid lines and a central cross, indicating a setup for machine embroidery.

Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. 

Move the hoop so that the needle is right over the center point on the fabric. 

Embroider the design

Close-up of an embroidery machine stitching a red apple design with green leaf on white fabric, held in a rectangular hoop.

After embroidering, unhoop the fabric and trim the excess stabilizer away from the back.

Scissors cutting white stabilizer from fabric with a partially visible stitched apple design showing red outline and green leaf on light background.

Repeat to embroider designs for the front and back of the tote.

Two pieces of white fabric laid on a wood table, each embroidered with colorful fruits. Left fabric shows a green pear, red apple with a slice, and three strawberries. Right fabric shows a yellow lemon slice, a whole pineapple, and a red watermelon slice.

To prepare the inner lining of the front and back panels, cut two pieces of the solid color canvas to 16 1/2" x 16 1/2".


Align each panel on top of the lining fabric with the wrong sides together and pin in place.

Hand holding up edge of pinned white fabric with printed green pear, red apple, and red strawberry on wood surface.

Sew a 1/4" seam around the entire outer edges of each panel.

Close-up of a white sewing machine stitching beige fabric pinned with red and black-headed pins on a white tabletop. The fabric is flat and partially sewn.

To prepare the side panels (outer shells and inner linings), cut four 8 1/2" x 16 1/2" pieces from the print canvas. 

Align the pieces together with the wrong sides together (creating two panels) and pin in place. 

Sew a 1/4" seam around the entire outer edges of each panel..


Two pieces of fabric with vertical stripes in red, green, yellow, orange, and white laid on a wood grain surface, one piece partially folded to show backside with lighter pink, green, and white stripes.

Place the back panel right side down and align the long edges of the side panels with the side edges of the back panel.

Wrap bias tape around the sides.

Pin in place, then trim the tape to size.

Fabric with vertical stripes in red, green, yellow, orange, and white is pinned on a table, partially folded, with a hand holding a corner on the right side.

Sew a seam along the inner edges of the bias tape.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching beige fabric with a printed red and green watermelon slice design, focusing on the needle and presser foot.

Lay the back panel right side down again and fold the side panels in half lengthwise so that the inner lining faces up. 

Align the sides of the front panel with the long edges of the side panels with the front panel right side up. 

Wrap bias tape along the sides.

Pin in place, trim the tape, and sew a seam along the inner edges of the tape.

Hand holding open white fabric with fruit prints (pear, apple, strawberries) revealing striped lining fabric underneath. Wooden surface background.

Lay the panels with a side facing right side up. 

Fold the tape on both edges in towards the side and pin in place. 

Do this on the top and bottom of each side.

Close-up of a sewing project with fabric pinned together. Striped fabric in green, white, orange, and brown is placed between two plain beige canvas pieces. A hand holds the right edge. The surface beneath is dark wood.

Tack the tape in place by sewing a few stitches over the tape along the top and bottom edges of the panels.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching a white fabric edge to striped fabric with orange, yellow, green, and red lines, showing presser foot and needle area.

To prepare the bottom of the tote, measure the inner bottom edges from seam to seam. 

In this example, the measurement is 15 1/4" x 8".

White fabric tote with colorful striped handles, embroidered with lemon, pineapple, and watermelon; a metal ruler showing about 14 inches wide is placed across it.

Cut one piece of the canvas to the dimensions you just measured. 

Also, add 1" to each of the dimensions and cut two pieces of the canvas to this size.

In this example, one piece is 15 1/4" x 8" and two pieces are 16 1/4" x 9".

The two larger pieces will be sewn together to make the bottom flap, and the smaller piece will be the bottom.

Two cut pieces of plain beige fabric and an orange-handled pair of scissors rest on a wooden table. The fabric pieces vary in shape and size.

Align the two larger pieces with the right sides together and pin in place. 

Sew a 1/4" seam around one long side and the short ends. Leave one long side open for turning.

Rectangular piece of white fabric pinned at edges with colored sewing pins on a dark brown wood surface, a hand with a silver ring touching the fabric.

Turn the fabric right side out and press the seams. Then, top stitch a 1/2" seam around the folded edges only.

A beige fabric piece on a blue ironing board is being pressed with a silver and gray iron held by a hand. The iron's brand and settings are partially visible.

Align the raw edge (no seam) long side of the flap with a long side of the bottom fabric.

Position the flap so that the sides extend over the edges of the bottom fabric piece about 1/4"

Pin in place and sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge only.

A hand lifts a folded corner of a white fabric piece pinned with straight pins on a dark wood surface. The fabric has a folded edge with visible stitching.

Lay the assembled tote portion with the back panel facing up. 

Align the sewn edge of the assembled bottom portion with the bottom edge of the back panel. Do this with the top side of the bottom portion aligned with inside edge of the bottom edge of the back panel (the flap should be facing inside the tote). 

Pin in place with the bottom portion flat against the inside of the back panel about 2" from the edge. Then, starting at one corner, wrap bias tape around the edge and pin in place. 

Sew a seam along the inner edge of the tape. Do not cut the tape just yet.

Close-up of beige tote fabric with lemon and pineapple prints pinned for sewing. Striped fabric edge and hand holding fabric visible on wooden surface.

Pin the flap flat up against the inside of the back panel to keep it out of the way.

Continue adding bias tape around the bottom of the bag by aligning the bottom piece with the bottom of the first side panel. 

Pin in place and wrap the bias tape around the edge. 

Sew the tape in place by sewing a seam along the inner edge.

Continue this process around the entire bottom edge of the tote. 

When you reach the point where you started, trim about one inch excess of the bias tape, fold the end under, and sew in place over the start of the tape.

Close-up of a hand pinning white fabric trim around the edge of a striped fabric piece in green, yellow, orange, and white on a brown wood surface.

Add bias tape around the top edge of the tote by wrapping it around the edge and sewing it in place just like you did with the bottom.

Hand with ring holding cream fabric pinned with colorful head pins on wooden table, fabric decorated with red apples, green apple halves, and strawberries, edges and striped fabric visible.

To create shoulder straps, cut two pieces of canvas to 2 1/2" x 44".

To create handles, cut two pieces of canvas to 2 1/2" x 20".

Orange-handled scissors rest on four red fabric strips laid out on a wood-textured surface, arranged in parallel with some slight overlap.

Fold the pieces together lengthwise with the wrong sides together. 

Press in place with an iron.

Close-up of a white SteamXpress iron pressing a red strip of fabric on a light blue ironing board cover. A hand is holding the iron.

Wrap bias tape around the open long edges and pin in place.

Two folded and pinned strips of fabric, one orange and one red, placed parallel on a wood-grain table. A hand with a ring holds the red strip.

Sew a seam along the inner edge of the tape.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching a bright red strap or fabric strip with a needle and presser foot engaged, sewing on a white surface.

On the inside of the tote, mark 2 1/2" down from the top edge and 3 1/2" in from the side seams.

Hand holding a blue pen marking numbers on a metal ruler placed on beige fabric with striped fabric edges on a wooden table.

Wrap the ends of the straps/ handles in about 1/2" and pin them in place aligning the folded end with the marks on the inside of the tote.

Open beige tote bag with colorful vertical striped inner pockets, orange fabric tabs pinned to the top edges, held by two hands over a wooden surface.

Sew a seam 1/8" seam around the sides of the strap/handle starting and stopping at the bottom edge of the bias tape at the top edge of the tote.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching a red fabric strap to off-white canvas fabric with a multicolored striped fabric visible at the edge.

Add eyelets to the straps to strengthen their hold. 

On the outside of the tote, mark the center of the "box" created by the strap seams.

Close-up of a beige tote bag with orange handles on a wooden surface. A hand is holding a blue marker near faint red printed registration marks on the top edge. A partial green apple with leaves and a red fruit are visible near the bottom edge.

Use a craft knife and cutting pad to cut an "x" at the marks.

Hand holding an X-Acto knife cutting a small rectangular slit in off-white canvas fabric with visible red stitching, orange strap, blue cutting mat with yellow grid beneath.

Add the eyelets to the holes using the eyelet tool and hammer.

Close-up of a hammer pressing a metal grommet tool into the corner of a white fabric tote with red and orange fabric accents and striped interior lining on a wooden surface.

Cut a piece of the foam board or cardboard to 14" x 7".

Hand holding a precision craft knife cutting white paper on a blue ruler cutting mat on a wooden table.

Lift the flap at the bottom of the tote and insert the board. Lay the flap over the board.

Hand holding open a beige canvas tote bag with a white rectangular object inside, striped fabric background in yellow, orange, green, and white.

To wash this reusable grocery tote, simply lift up the flap at the bottom and remove the board before sticking in the laundry.

A terrific way to tote your grocery goods in style!

Canvas tote bag with red handles, featuring embroidered pear, apple, and strawberry designs. Bag contains lettuce and baguettes, set on green grass with scattered apple, grapefruit, and tomato.