Belated Cotton Love

I had this post prepared such a long time ago. It was even before my harddisk died on me, and I am glad I had already uploaded this picture. I didn't want to post it too early, since I had planned to make one of these tote bags for my friend Syl for belayed Christmas (a habit we still pursue very much), and I wanted it to be a total surprise.

This bag is now about half a year old and my substitute for any handbag I had before. It's so practical, and always fits more than you think, without becoming a burden to your shoulders and back. I've been dreaming about making a few more of this style and open a little etsy shop. To share the love over handmade uniqueness.

So here's the original post:
"I'm a big fan of cotton tote bags. Not only does it keep my wastage of plastic bags to a minimum, it also adds to my individual style. After having tried out a few prototypes, I finally finished my first very own cotton bag.

Since the sourcing of darker shaded heavy cotton seems to be more difficult than I thought, I had to dye some beige cotton to get this brown color. I'm rather dissatisfied with the result, as it is quite blotchy. Hopefully I'll find a supplier of darker cotton or linen soon. Sadly Etsy is not the answer yet.

What I love most is the floral lining, which only peeks out a little if you're rummaging around for your things. I decided to go with the darker old rose ribbon, since it suits my scarf so well. But I'm planning to combine it with all kinds of colors, depending on the wearer and its wardrobe."

I've already made two more of these bags, always one of a kind. In the meantime I found a very solid brighter linen, substituting well for the brown shade. But I'm still hunting for a similar quality with darker shades since, well, these bags do live. And they will become a little blotchy and messy as you carry them around lovingly. But they'll always be unique.