I have been wanting to get back into making totes. And also wanting to use up my Halloween stash.

And part of that stash was skeleton panels. This is Mr. Chillingsworth.

I made pillowcases from these several years ago. I still have the pillowcases which was a pleasant surprise since I left most of my Halloween/Autumn decor behind in Florida when we moved. They are probably now in the piles of debris from Hurricane Helene.

I first thought I’d use the panels for fun spooky wall hangings. But then I thought, ohhhhhh, these could be a really cool tote. How much candy could I get in here? And maybe even the cat!

(Although Mr. Chillingsworth panels are no longer available there are many other panels out there for sale. Just do a google search or check out any online fabric shop.)

Incidentally, I’m posting this on Quilty Thursday because I had to quilt the panels.

See the lines?

Yeah it’s a quilt! In bag form.

I used ByAnnie Soft ‘n Stable for the interfacing which isn’t fusible so I quilted the tote. I really like Soft ‘n Stable. It added a lot of structure to this bag. It even stands up without me shoving towels inside for the photo shoot.

I can carry SO MUCH! Even the cat! (Maybe too much?)

This is based on my “Let’s Go” tote pattern. I changed up the size of the pieces. And made some other minor changes.

Here is the spooky tote beside my favorite Let’s Go tote. BIG size difference!

It had to be large to accommodate those panels. I didn’t want to lose any of cool Mr. Chillingsworth! I also put the straps on the inside for the same reason.

I tried something a little different for the base. Rather than cutting out the corners to box it, I just made the base 2 1/2” inset on each side. And then I boxed the bottom. To make a more durable base, I think I will try this with faux leather on a future tote.

I put some pockets on the inside. One of them is zippered. But I forgot to take pics while I working on them.

In order to add a shoulder strap, I added tabs on the sides. For now, I’m using a strap from an old bag. I have a bunch of these for some unknown reason. Guess I saved them in case they would come in handy. And this one did! I might eventually make a skeleton strap to match but for now, this will work.

Anyhow.

This is my Halloween bag for this year.

And I’m looking forward to carrying it for Spooky Season! (Maybe without the cat!)