Jolly Braid Tote Bag

UPDATE, October 2025: The updated pattern has been released and is now available to download from Fat Quarter Shop’s website here. It is no longer a free pattern.

UPDATE, March 2024: I have been informed that the pattern is currently being updated and will be re-released sometime in the future. When that re-release happens, I will make sure to inform you, dear readers. 🙂 If you would like a personal heads-up from me when the re-release comes out, please leave a comment on *this* post, and I’ll go through and message every comment when the re-release happens.

UPDATE, August 2023: The link to the free pattern does not work at the moment. I have emailed Fat Quarter Shop and am awaiting their reply on how to fix it for you! Thank you for pointing it out!

I’ve been posting teasers on Instagram all week about a project I’ve been making for Fat Quarter Shop, and it’s finally time to show you the finished product!

Friends, meet the Jolly Braid Tote Bag, a super easy, very beginner-friendly bag made from Jolly Bar precuts. I’d actually never made a structured bag before this, and I have no idea why I waited so long to get on the wagon! SUPER easy, and totally satisfying to sew.

The pattern is available from Fat Quarter Shop. You’ll need a Jolly Bar package, yardage of two other fabrics, some Annie’s Soft & Stable, one-inch polypro strapping for the handles, and a roll of “Fat Jelly Braid” Triangles on a Roll paper (seriously, I want to buy every available size of Triangles on a Roll because I love it so much).

I chose to make my bag from American Jane’s newest collection, “Merry Go Round,” and I’m really pleased with how cheerful it turned out. When I first saw the dimensions of the pattern (12 x 11 x 5″), I thought it would make a great library book bag for my daughter, so I went with sunny prints to match her personality.

For my two prints, I went with Merry Go Round “Yellow Large Floral” (SKU# 21720-14) for my accent print, and “Red Mono Floral” (SKU# 21723-11) for my lining.

And, because I intended for the bag to hold heavy books, I added two inches to each end of the nylon strapping for the handles and tacked them down inside the construction of the bag so I wouldn’t run into ripped handles in the future. (I have ripped A LOT of handles out of A LOT of book bags…we nerdy girls always carry too many books in our bags!)

My little Miss Junebug wanted to help with the photoshoot so much, so I let her! There’s nothing like spending a beautiful autumn afternoon following your kid around the neighborhood as she proudly shows off her “new bag” to everyone she meets on the street! (Don’t you just love it when a finished project makes the recipient enthusiastically happy?!?!)