Beginner Sewing Pattern Bundle: Basket, Tablet Sleeve and Tote Bag

People often ask me where to start when they are new to sewing. My answer is three projects, in this order: a basket, a tablet sleeve and a tote. Each one is only straight seams, and each adds one skill to the last. By the time you finish the tote, you will have lined a project, fused interfacing, sewn straps, boxed corners and topstitched, and you will have three things you will use every day.

The order I recommend

1. Fabric Storage Basket (1.5 to 2 hours). You will sew a lined shape, box the corners and turn it right side out through a gap. It is forgiving: no one sees the inside corners and the cuff hides the top seam.

2. Padded Tablet Sleeve (1 to 1.5 hours). One long rectangle with fusible fleece, rounded corners and a button. You learn to sandwich a loop between layers and topstitch around a turned shape.

3. Market Tote Bag (2 to 3 hours). Straps, an inside pocket, a boxed bottom and a lining joined to the outer with straps in the sandwich. It is the most involved, but by now every step feels familiar.

What is in the download

• All three PDF patterns, each seven letter size pages with materials list, finished size, seam allowance, cutting chart, fabric layout drawn to scale and numbered steps with a diagram for each one
• A start-here guide with the order, time and skill for each project
• The free ten page Sewing Project Planner

Shopping once

Fabric for all three can come from a small stack: 1 1/2 yards each of two coordinating prints covers the basket and the sleeve, and the tote needs 1/2 yard of outer, 1/2 yard of lining and 1/4 yard of canvas for the straps. Buy fusible fleece, heavyweight fusible interfacing and medium fusible interfacing once, and use the planner to track what is left over.

Supplies you will need

• A basic sewing machine (no zipper foot needed)
• Rotary cutter, ruler and mat, or sharp scissors
• Clips or pins, and an iron
• All purpose thread and an extra denim needle for the tote
• Fusible interfacing, fusible fleece, a button and a bit of elastic

Price

Bought separately these patterns are $31.90. The bundle is $24.95, which saves $6.95 and gives you a plan instead of a pile of PDFs. Everything is a digital download for personal use.

Tips for new sewers

Prewash and press your fabric. Cut carefully and label pieces. Change your needle at the start of each project. Press at every step; it makes the finished item look store bought. And do not be hard on yourself when the first seam is crooked: the second one will be better.