Finley Tote sew - along (week 4: final assembly)

Hello friends, how are your Finley Totes coming along? I hope you're having fun and are excited to have your lovely totes finished soon :)

This week we're going to tackle final bag assembly and add hardware to our adjustable straps. Pretty easy, isn't it?

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Follow Step 16 in your pattern for final bag assembly. And, as always, take your time lining things up, use a good amount of sewing clips to ensure all layers stay in place, and let the machine do the work, don't pull or tug at your bag as you sew.

Once your tote bag is finished give it a good press. I usually use iron on cotton setting and plenty of steam.

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All that's left to do now is add hardware to our straps. 

I used these lovely swivel hooks and strap slider in nickel finish to match the rest of my hardware as well as zippers. You can purchase this hardware + many others here.

Now, I know making an adjustable strap might seem a bit intimidating if you've never done it before, so take things slow, and read all the directions carefully. I'd suggest you use sewing clips to hold everything in place, check to make sure hardware is added correctly, and only then go ahead and stitch everything in place. You can also use rivets instead of stitching like I did for the straps in photos above.

You don't have to use rivets, of course. But if you do decide to add them to your straps you'll need a few basic tools - leather hole punch, rivets (my favorite are double cap 6-8 mm rivets), rivet setting tool, and mallet.

And, check out this tutorial if you need help setting your rivets.

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I had a blast working on my Finley Tote together with you all. Thank you for joining me friends.

Please share your finished totes on IG using #finleytotesewalong.

Svetlana