Wool + Wax Tote PDF Pattern

I recently wanted to make something special for a dear friend’s birthday, and knew that Anna from Noodlehead would have a bag pattern of some sort that would be perfectly fit the bill. After narrowing it down to a tote bag pattern, I chose the Wool + Wax Tote PDF Pattern and headed off to the store to find fabric!

I love that the Wool + Wax Tote is designed to be made with 2 coordinating fabrics, and I decided to take it one step further by making the pocket a third fabric.

I used cotton duck canvas from JoAnn for the grey and green fabrics, and because my local JoAnn didn’t have any black cotton duck in stock, I used a home decor weight solid black fabric. The pattern (obviously, per the name ;)) recommends waxed canvas for the bottom, but as I was on a tight schedule I added Pellon Flex Foam as Anna mentions in the pattern and it gave the bag bottom great stability and shape.

I haven’t sewn a bag in quite some time, so I loved this project project! It’s hard to believe it’s been over 5 years since I released the Airdrie Bag Pattern, and I’ve missed how much fun classic bags are to sew. I’ve embellished bags, sewn bags for my girls, and made a plethora of tiny backpacks, but it was great to get to sew a tote bag pattern designed for an adult.

The pattern recommends leather straps or cotton webbing for the straps, but as I was short on time sourcing those, I made my own straps from the grey cotton duck.

For this tote bag pattern, I wanted to add a pop of print to the bag while still keep the bag minimal, so I used an animal print home decor fabric for the lining. I love how it peeks out from the top of the back and front pockets without being overwhelming.

Wanting to personalize the bag for my friend, I added her initials with Cricut Iron-on vinyl and my EasyPress 2 (this is also my favorite tool for attaching interfacing to large fabric pieces – it saves sooo much time) to the inside pocket. It makes me happy to think of her peeking inside and being surprised when she sees her initials. For small Iron-on projects like this, I love to use my Cricut Joy because it’s easy to just grab it quickly where ever I am and create a cut file easily on the app on my phone.

If you want to pair a tote bag with a smaller pouch as a gift, try our scalloped pouch tutorial!

The Wool + Wax Tote Pattern was such an enjoyable sew and as always, Anna’s pattern had great instructions and was easy to follow.

It’s a great tote bag pattern that can be sewn up in an evening, and I’m sure it won’t be my last Wool + Wax Tote (especially cause I bought way too much fabric, ha!)!