I don’t know what it is about the New Year that makes us all want to get organized. As soon as Christmas was over, I spent some time evaluating my year and started working on some business and personal goals for this next year. I feel motivated to get some things around the house organized and get a fresh start on some projects. I also spent some time in my sewing room, trying to get things cleaned and sorted.

I thought I would show you how I used the Water Bottle Tote pattern to make a craft organizer for my sewing room. With the canvas fabric, heavy interfacing, and no straps, the tote makes the perfect organizer for jars or bottles of craft supplies.

Using the Water Bottle Tote pattern, I cut out all of the pieces except for the pocket and straps. I chose canvas and denim fabric for both the exterior and the lining. I also used some sturdy interfacing (Pellon 808) on all of the exterior pieces (including the exterior sides, which you do not stabilize for the tote). I also doubled the interfacing in the divider pieces.

Normally, I center the divider in the lining so that there is equal space above and below it. For the craft organizer version, I moved the divider closer to the bottom of the bag so that paint brushes and small items wouldn’t slide under the divider to a different section. If you make this adjustment, just leave about an inch at the bottom for the seam allowance, plus that little bit of extra space so that you can maneuver the pieces under the presser foot.

Before assembling the exterior, I cut out a simple freezer paper stencil with the word “make” and painted the letters with white screen printing ink. Acrylic fabric paint would also work for stenciling fabric. (If you aren’t sure how to do this, Dana has a helpful tutorial for freezer paper stenciling.)

Once the fabric ink dries, you can assemble the tote according to the instructions. Just disregard any references to the pocket or strap.

I like to recycle glass jars to hold bits of ribbon, beads, hardware, and other craft supplies. The bag sections are just the right size to keep all of those jars contained. You could also use it to organize small knitting projects or fat quarters of quilt fabric.

It goes together pretty quickly (especially if you have made a couple and have figured out how to add the divider efficiently…).  Not including the paint drying time, you can easily sew one up during afternoon nap time.

So, there you have it…the Water Bottle Tote is not just for water bottles!

What are your favorite ways to organize craft supplies?