I made a new Firefly tote. And I love it. And why did I need ANOTHER tote?

A few weeks ago I told Terry that I need a new smaller iPad that could fit into the Sandhill Sling that I use on the daily. He suggested I make a bigger tote! What? Oh yeah, that could be a better idea. And way cheaper (but my iPad is really old so it’s just a matter of time before Apple decides it is obsolete and kills the battery!)

Anyhow, I LOVE the Sandhill Sling but do not know if I have the skill set to make it bigger. I thought about getting a new pattern from Noodlehead but that’s her only sling pattern. She also has backpacks but I’m not crazy about all my stuff riding around on my back. The sling is pretty perfect for my needs–a wallet, glasses, iPhone and my chapstick! I can wear it crossbody across my chest or on my back. But it doesn’t quite fit my iPad which I only take with me when I’m reading an ebook–which is most of the time.

So, I decided to see if I could turn the project size of the Firefly Tote into my perfect daily tote and fit my iPad. I’ve made three of them so I figured I had enough experience and I should be able to update it to meet my needs.

One of them went into a raffle for the Homosassa Civic Club–with a matching pouch. It is so pretty with all the accent fabric from Rifle Paper Company. I hope whoever won it in the raffle likes (loves) it!

I kept the first Firefly Tote I made.

It is great for hand stitching projects. I LOVE MY FABRIC CHOICES! (Yes I do need to shout my love)) I used it for all the Halloween Hexies and supplies that I have been making. I made most of the hexies while on our road trip from North Dakota to Florida and it was pretty perfect for that purpose! Lots of room to carry the yardage and the finished hexies plus a pocket for the scissors, thread, and my little sewing kit. I also think it would be great for crochet or knitting projects. But it is way too big and deep for daily use.

Then I made the project size for myself to carry wine in for picnics and happy hours at the park.

I used Rifle Paper Company for the accent fabric. I cut the leather straps off of a worn out purse and used them on this bag. I really think it’s pretty. And useful!

I tried using it for my daily tote but the straps were too short. And I wasn’t crazy about the drawstring.

The perfect tote would have longer handles that I could put over my shoulder and possibly a cross body strap. A zipper pocket, a slip pocket, and a swivel hook on the inside for my keys. Exterior pockets on both sides. And eliminate the drawstring.

So I put my thinking cap on and figured out how I could make the Firefly tote into the perfect daily tote.

I found this great accent fabric at our local quilt shop, Beyond the Stitches. I was looking for something with Autumn vibes.

I used denim for the body from my denim stash. (So much denim!)

The rivets I planned to use on the handles were bronze so I ordered brown zippers with bronze metal teeth thinking they would be really cool on the exterior pockets. In the real world the brown didn’t match the accent fabric. And I’m pretty picky about that kind of thing. I just used the navy blue zippers I already had. I’ll use the brown zippers in future projects.

I had ordered 28″ leather straps from Noodlehead a LOOOOONG time ago. I was saving them for something special and it was time to use them.

I love my Brother PQ1500SQL for making totes because it’s fast and it’s tough. And it did a great job until it was time to attach those cool leather handles—I moved them a few inches further out than the instructions called for so it would be easier to carry on my shoulder. Which seemed like a good idea until I actually tried to sew over the leather handles. Oh yeah, they were right over the pocket seams.

The straps I had used on the previous Firefly Wine Tote were not nearly as thick as these from Noodlehead. I started with a 16/100 denim needle and moved to an 18/110. (I also gave Brother a nice home spa treatment–cleaning and oiling. ) I still had to hand turn the wheel to get the needle through which I didn’t think was real secure for my stitching. I finally pounded the seams with a rubber mallet and tried to sew through the seams again–success! After all that, I decided I wouldn’t add the cross body strap–perhaps I had had enough challenges! And I think the Brother might have had to go to the real spa–the one that charges me lots of money for broken parts.

The machine also didn’t like the thick seams on the bottom of the bag due to having two pockets rather than one. But me and Bro persevered. Scheesh.

No problem with the lining and it was easy-peasy to figure out how to eliminate the drawsting section.

Then I moved to my rivet press to add rivets to the handles. I use my rivet press so seldom I have to watch a video from Sew Sweetness to remind myself as to how it works and I successfully added rivets to the straps.

I’ve been carrying this new tote almost every day for the last few weeks. There are a few issues I would change up but it is close to perfect. And it’s really pretty! Sometimes Pretty beats Perfect!

Having said that, I was headed out to listen to music at a local spot and what did I grab for my stuff?–the Sandhill sling—because I can keep it draped across the front of my body and that feels very secure in a crowd! Perhaps I really do need to figure out how to make the sling a little bigger!

But for on the daily, I’ll continue using this Firefly!