Ocean 241 Tote

When I made my 241 tote more than a year ago, I ended up giving my mom my test purse that I’d made with scrap fabrics. She’s been hinting that she’d like a new one since then, and I finally got around to making one with fabrics I thought she’d love and the little tweaks I made to my own 241 tote.

My mom loves the color blue and most sea-dwelling creatures, so I used this jellyfish print (from Into the Deep by Patty Sloniger) as the main print. I picked out some fish and hearts to go with it, along with this Lizzy House print with a mom and baby whale (for my mom!)

I still love this pattern and it was a fun project to put together. I love the shape of the bag, and the opportunity to put together several prints definitely appeals to the fabric hoarder curator in me.

I did most of the same mods as I did for my bag – I added 1.5″ to the width of the center piece, put a key clip in one of the side pockets, made a longer adjustable strap,  and added a zipper closure to the top of the purse. I also learned that using a mostly-white print for the strap and piping was not a great idea for a frequently used purse – I can not seem to get mine clean.

I tweaked the inner pocket a bit to fit my mom’s phone, and made it in the white version of my very favorite Lizzy House print with one of my Stars and Sunshine tags. I love adding those to my projects!

Bag Specs:
Pattern: 241 tote from Noodlehead.
Modifications: 1.5″ added to width of center panel, included zipper on top, made a longer adjustable strap to convert to cross-body, and added key clip to inside of one of the side pockets.
Size: Roughly 15″ wide and 14″ tall.
Fabric: Main fabric: Into the Deep by Patty Sloniger; :Side pockets – Natural History by Lizzy House; Lining – Charlie Harper
Made for: my Mom’s birthday