DIY Utility Tote

Dear Readers-

I am in love with the large utility totes that are popping up everywhere. I have two of them, but I felt like I needed more...you know the feeling...it is apparent in your  my stash. Anyway, I use my utility totes for EVERYTHING- grocery shopping, Costco, swimming bag, winter stuff bag, hauling around Christmas presents etc. They are amazing...but commercially made bags are expensive. I thought there had to be a cheaper option...so I went searching.

I made two frames. Each frame was about 10inches wide. 

I found a great tutorial by Jill Cataldo, but I couldn't find the metal U-shaped frames that she used locally. When I went to order them online, they were inexpensive (~ $.70/per unit), but when I got to the checkout shipping was around $15. Taking that into account with the cost of the home decor fabric and the webbing strap, it would have been cheaper to just purchase one from Thrity-One.

So out I went to Lowes to see what I could find to make a frame for the bag. My husband has a pipe bender so I purchase a 6ft length of 1/4 inch steel for around $5.50 thinking that I could bend. It was a little heavier than I would have liked, but I gave it a go.

It wasn't difficult to bend the rod into shape, but I had to play with it a bit. I learned that I had to bend it past 90 degrees to get it to actually be 90 degrees. After I had each of the corners, I made sure that there was some overlap on one of the long sides so I could join the two ends. I used duct tape to wrap the joint tightly and cover the ends to help project the fabric from wear.

The bag itself was very easy to make. It went together easily and it was simple enough to change the size of the bag. I think that I will make a few more using Cataldo's pattern, but try to make a different lighter frame...perhaps I'll use the wire hangers that are just taking up space in my closet =)