Anthro Knock-off: Cut Lace Carryall

I have been drooling over the white Cut Lace Carryall from Anthro for weeks now. The price tag isn't insanely excessive, but it's also not something I feel comfortable forking over when I'm *trying* to save. When you're like me and adore just about everything outside of your price range, you have to get creative. As they say, imitation is the best form of flattery.

The $198 original via Anthropologie:

I searched high and low for suede, leather, or vinyl that had the laser cut lace details that the original had but came up empty handed. After a dozen or so Google searches for vinyl lace, I came across a cute little store, Darlybird. Can you repeat after me... Uh-May-Zing. Seriously, amazing. It took all of my self-control not to buy everything I loved (which was practically the entire stock) but since everything was such a steal, I let myself get three things guilt-free: vinyl lace placemats, washi tape, and uber cute labels.

If you were going to make this you could use a rectangular doily or scraps of actual lace (both of which I considered) but I wanted the matte look of the original which I wouldn't have gotten from flimsy fabric. I love the look of the finished bag. It's perfect for summer and will be great next spring as well.  


What you will need:

• One yard of canvas or any other fabric of your choosing (consider using oil cloth or laminated cotton for a completely wipeable bag)
• 2 vinyl placemats from Darlybird
• 1.5 yards of rope for the handles
• Steam-A-Seam iron-on adhesive
• Coordinating thread
• Sewing essentials
• Iron & Ironing Board

Follow the instructions at Dana Made It for the Boxed Out Tote
I followed that tutorial to a T (put in a pocket and all) but this is what I did differently:

1. After cutting out the canvas pieces using the placemat as a guide, completely finish off the top edge as you will not sew through the top of the vinyl. 
2. If you are adding a pocket do so at this point
3. Attach the handles
4. Place the Steam-A-Seam between a layer of vinyl and a layer of canvas and on the hottest setting, bond the two wrong sides together (if your fabric has a wrong side)
5. Now use the tutorial to make a tote out of this bonded fabric
6. It's completely optional to box out the bottom of the bag, but to me it looked like the original had a base so I wanted to do it on mine as well.

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