SUPPLIES:
Before you begin, print out the pattern pieces at
Exterior fabric:
3/4 yard Cotton or Canvas
Fat Quarter for Exterior Pocket
Lining fabric:
1 yard quilt weight cotton
Interfacing:
1/2 yard lightweight fusible (SF101)
1/2 yard sew-in or fusible fleece
Notions and supplies:
(1) 8” zipper
(1) 18mm magnetic snap (main closure)
(1) 14mm magnetic snap (pocket closure)
(1) 1.25” rectangle ring
(1) 1.25” rectangle slide
A note about interfacing: You are free to
interface your bag as you wish. I used duck
canvas as a sew-in interfacing but you may
use what you prefer. If you use fusible fleece,
remember to trim away the seam allowance to
avoid bulk in the seams.
SEWING TIPS:
Backstitching: Backstitching is sewing in
forward and reverse over the same set of stitches
to lock them at the end of a line of sewing.
WST/WS: an abbreviation that stands for Wrong
Side Together OR Wrong Side which indicates
which way the fabric should face.
RST/RS: an abbreviation that stands for Right
Side Together OR Right Side which indicates
which way the fabric should face.
Basting Stitch: Sewing using a longer stitch
length. I usually use a stitch length of 4.
Seam Allowance: Seam allowance is always
3/8 inch unless specified otherwise. All seam
allowances are included in pattern pieces.
1
PATTERN PIECES:
the end of this document on regular 8.5 x 11 size
paper with scaling set to “none” or “100%”. Cut
out. You will need to tape together the Body A
pieces at the red line by matching the symbols.
CUTTING:
From Body A, cut on the fold:
(2) Exterior fabric
(2) Lining fabric
(2) Sew-in or Fusible fleece
From Pocket Flap B, cut the following:
(2) Exterior fabric
(2) Fusible interfacing
From Top Band C, cut on the fold:
(2) Exterior fabric
(2) Lining fabric (can also be Exterior fabric)
(2) Sew-in or Fusible fleece
(2) Fusible interfacing (if using quilt weight for
interior pieces)
From Pocket D, cut on the fold:
(1) Exterior fabric
(3) Lining fabric (2 are for interior slip pocket)
(3) Fusible interfacing
For Strap, cut in Exterior fabric and Fusible inter-
facing:
(1) Rectangle ring strap 7” W x 5” H
(1) Adjustable strap 48” L x 5” H
For Zippered Pocket, cut 10” W x 7” H:
(2) Lining fabric
(2) Fusible interfacing
(1) Fusible interfacing 12” W x 4” H
INTERFACING:
Fuse fleece to WS of Body A pieces OR pin sew-in
interfacing to WS and baste stitch in place.
Fuse interfacing to WS of both Pocket Flap B
pieces
Fuse fleece to WS of Top Band C Exterior pieces
OR pin sew-in to WS and baste stitch in place.
Take your short strap piece for the rectangle ring
and fold in half horizontally and iron. Open up to
reveal the crease you’ve just created and fold in
each half towards that centre crease and iron in
place. Fold in half again and iron flat. You should
end up with a strap piece that is 7” L x 1.25” W
as shown in previous photo.

If using quilt weight for interior Top Band C

pieces, fuse interfacing to WS.

Fuse interfacing to WS of both Exterior Pocket D

pieces and to 1 Interior Pocket piece.

Fuse interfacing to WS of rectangle ring strap and

adjustable strap.

Fuse interfacing to WS of both Zippered pocket Sew both long sides of your short strap piece
pieces. Fuse 12” x 4” piece to centre of WS of (1) with a 1/8” seam allowance and then again
Body A Lining piece approximately 1” from top with a 3/8” inch seam allowance.
edge.

Fuse small scraps of fusible to centre of interior

Top Band pieces to reinforce magnetic snap’s
location as shown in photo below.

Pass the short strap piece through the rectangle

ring, fold strap in half and baste stitch raw ends
together.

STRAP ASSEMBLY:

Take your longer strap piece and before folding

and ironing like the shorter piece,
2
you need to iron in approximately 1/2” of one
short end towards the WS and iron in place. Re-
peat same instructions as rectangle strap to iron
and sew your strap.

Now take that unfinished strap end and pass it

through the rectangle slide. Set completed strap
aside for now.
EXTERIOR ASSEMBLY:
Now you need to take your rectangle slide and
pass the end of the long strap piece with
the FINISHED end through the slide around the
middle bar.

Take one of your Top Band C and place along the

top edge of one Body A. Pin in place.

Fold it over and sew in place by sewing a rect-

angle shape as shown in photo.

Stitch the top band to the body piece along the

Take your short strap piece with the rectangle ring top edge making sure to backstitch at each end.
and pass the unfinished end of the long strap
through it.

3
Iron the seam allowance towards the Top Band
and topstitch the seam. Repeat for 2nd Top Band
and Body Panel.
Carefully cut out those prong marks and then
place the thinner half of your magnetic snap
through the holes from the RS of your Flap. Place
a scrap piece of Peltex or canvas and then place
your washer and spread the sprongs to secure.

Fold one Body Panel in half vertically WST and

mark the top and bottom centre. You will also
need to find the location of the magnetic snap
on your Flap. Take the Flap piece that will be
on the underside and fold it in half vertically Repeat steps to install the other half of the snap
WST. Mark the snap’s location on the RS about into the Pocket piece.
1.5” from the bottom edge. Using your Pocket
D pattern piece as a guide, transfer the location
of your magnetic snap on the RS of the Exterior
Pocket piece.

Take the other flap and pocket pieces and place

Take one of the 14mm washers and place the cen-
tre hole over the mark you just made on the Flap
and mark the location of the prong holes.
4
them over the pieces with the snaps RST. Pin in
place. Sew these 2 flap pieces and 2 pocket
pieces together using the red lines in the photo
below as a guide. Do not sew all the way around
– leave a 3-inch gap at the top of each piece to
turn them RS out. Make sure to backstitch at the
beginning and end of the seam so it does not
come undone when turning the pieces.
Trim seam allowance to 1/8” except at the open-
ings.
Turn the Pocket and Flap RS out and press seams
nice and flat. Use a chopstitck to gently push out
the corners. Topstitch the top edge of the POCK-
ET piece.
For the pocket flap piece, you need to topstitch
the round edge (sides and bottom), NOT the top
edge.
5
Fold completed Pocket in half vertically and mark
the top and bottom centre with a fabric pen.
Take your body panel with the centre marks
and lay it flat on your work surface. Take your
completed pocket piece and place it about 1.75
inches below the bottom edge of the top
band. Use a ruler to make sure all of your centre
marks line up nicely. Pin pocket in place. Stitch
around the sides and bottom of the pocket piece
with a 1/8-inch seam allowance making sure to
backstitch at the beginning and end of your
seam so the pocket is nice and secure at the
corners.
Take your completed pocket flap piece and snap
it in place with the magnetic snap. Then you
need to make sure the top edge of your pocket
flap is straight (measure the gap between the top
edge of the pocket flap and the bottom edge
of the top band at both ends to make sure it is
identical). Pin in place.

Iron the seam allowance of your dart open. Re-

peat for remaining 3 darts.

Stitch the top edge of your pocket flap. Back-

stitch very well at the beginning and end so your
flap does not come undone.

Pin your 2 body panels RST making sure that the

bottom edges of your top bands line up perfectly
as well as the dart seams at the corners. Stitch
all the way around except for the top edge to
sew the 2 body panels together. I like
to stitch around twice and make sure to back-
stitch at the beginning and end of your seam.

Pin the dart edges RST making sure they line up

perfectly.

Press your side seams open as far down the

Sew the dart making sure to backstitch properly sides as possible.
at both ends.

6
 INTERIOR ASSEMBLY:

Take one Top Band C and place on top edge of

Body A Lining RST. Pin in place. Stitch together
along top edge and press seam allowance to-
wards the top band. Topstitch. Repeat for 2nd
Top Band and Lining Body panel.

Turn your exterior shell RS out. Take your com-

pleted strap and centre one end of the strap to
the side seam of your exterior shell. Baste stitch
it in place. Repeat for the otherend of your strap.
When attaching your strap, make sure that the
RS of your strap is facing the RS of the bag.
So your strap should look upside down at this
stage.

Take both Pocket Lining pieces and pin RST. Sew

together leaving a 3” opening along the top
straight edge to turn pocket RS out.

Set aside bag Exterior for now.

Trim seam allowance to 1/8” except at opening

at the top. Turn pocket RS out and press seams
nice and flat. Topstitch the top edge.
7

Place Lining panel (without zippered pocket
interfacing on the WS) RS up on your work
surface. Place completed pocket on top, also RS
up. Centre it and place it where you would like
beneath the top band but well away from the
corner darts. Pin in place. Stitch the pocket in
place around the sides and bottom leaving the
top open. Optional: I also like to sew in about
1.5” of the top edge of the pocket from each top
corner to prevent the pocket from gaping open.
Take one Zippered Pocket lining piece and on
the WS, draw a rectangle centered and 1” from
the top edge that is 8” wide x 3/8” H. Place this
zippered pocket lining on top of your remaining
Lining Body panel RST centered just beneath the
top band. Pin in place.
8
Using a shorter stitch length and keeping your
needle in the down position to help with turning
corners, stitch all the way around the rectangle.
Using red line in photo as a guide, draw a hori-
zontal line through the centre of your rectangle
stopping 1/2” from either side. Draw diagonal
lines from that centre line to each of the 4 cor-
ners. Carefully cut out the red lines making sure
you do not cut any stitching at the corners.
Pull your zippered pocket lining piece through the
opening towards the WS of the lining and iron
the opening very carefully so you can have a nice
rectangle opening for the zipper.
Turn your body lining piece RS up and place your
zipper carefully inside the rectangle opening. Pin
in place.
 Fold the lining shell in half vertically and then
make a mark on the WS of one top band about
1.5 inches from the top edge.
Stitch all the way around the rectangle opening
to sew your zipper in place. Keep your needle in
the down position to make turning corners easier.

Lay the lining shell flat on your work surface,

Take your second pocket lining piece and place it
on top of the first one RST. Pin in place. Sew the
pocket lining pieces together.
take a straight pin and stick it through the mark
you just made through both top band pieces.
Now make a mark at both ends of the pin on
the RS of the top band. Those are the marks you
should use to install both sides of the magnetic
snap.

Using the same instructions as the Pocket’s snap,

Sew all 4 corner darts on your lining panels install the 18mm magnetic snap.
exactly as you did for the exterior panels. Pin the
lining panels RST making sure the top band and
corner dart seams line up. Sew the body lining
pieces together leaving a 4 inch opening at the
bottom to turn the bag RS out.
9
FINAL ASSEMBLY:
Take your completed exterior shell and insert it
into your completed lining shell RST. Pin the top
edges together making sure the side seams line
up perfectly.
Stitch along the top edge to sew the Exterior and
Lining shells together.
Before turning your bag RS out, clip some of the
seam allowance on both sides of your strap as
shown in photo.
10
Turn the entire bag RS out through the opening
in your lining. Press the opening in the lining
shut and stitch closed with a small seam allow-
ance.
Tuck your lining into your exterior shell and then
topstitch the top edge of your bag. Go
carefully where your straps are located as it can
be quite thick for some sewing machines
depending on what kind of fabric you have used.
If desired, add an accent button to the centre of
your flap.
 You’re Done!
I’d love to see your creations, make sure to use #ThistleTote when
you share.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSING INFORMATION
©2016 Blue Calla Creations. All Rights Reserved. Written permission is required to copy and or
distribute copies of this pattern or instructions. Celine is happy to allow products made from this
pattern by a home sewer to be sold. Please include a credit to all your online listings stating that
your item is made from a Blue Calla Creations pattern. A link to my Etsy pattern shop would be
appreciated. Patterns must be purchased retail and the items must be made by one person, in
their home. Mass Production is strictly prohibited and will result in a change to these policies.

CONTACT:
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E-mail: bluecallacreations@gmail.com
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 Thistle Pocket Tote
Body A
Cut 2 Exterior fabric on fold
Cut 2 Lining fabric on fold
Cut 2 Interfacing on fold

FOLD
1 inch
square
1 inch
square
 Thistle Pocket Tote
Flap B
Cut 2 Exterior fabric
Cut 2 Fusible Interfacing
1 inch
square

Thistle Pocket Tote

FOLD
Top Band C
Cut 2 Exterior fabric on fold
Cut 2 Lining fabric on fold
Cut 2 Fusible interfacing on fold
magnetic snap

Thistle Pocket Tote

Pocket D
Cut 1 Exterior fabric on fold
Cut 3 Lining fabric on fold
Cut 3 Interfacing on fold

1 inch
square