Hand embroidered tote bag - Custom Monogram

Cotton tote bag for eco-friendly groceries, books, toys, hobbies and more!

Custom monogrammed totes make the perfect, unique gift for yourself or someone you love! 

After adding this item to your cart, a 'special instructions' box will be available. Please indicate your selections from the following:

Tote Color: Original, Pink, Purple, Green
Design Style: Floral, Geometric, Eclectic
Primary Design Color: Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Orange, Green, Black, Brown, White
Letter: A-Z

Please feel free to message me with any further customizations you would like, but I cannot guarantee that I will be able to accommodate them. 

Notes on custom orders:

• Totes are hand dyed by me using Rit dye. There will be inconsistencies in the color intensity and uniformity as part of my process. (Think closer to a tie dye look than a commercial dye look.) If you want a highly uniform look, I would recommend selecting 'Original' as the color, and I will use the tote as it is. 
• Colorways are a central color choice of thread and I will use additional variations of the color as well as complementary and/or contrasting fabrics. Let me know any do/do not use colors as well. 
• Style options are Floral (various flowers, vines, leaves, etc.), Geometric (shapes, lines, patterns, textures, generally non-organic looking), or Eclectic (I'll do my thing with however the spirit moves me.) 
• Letter is the letter you want me to include. Please only include one letter.

The embroidery is all hand created by myself, inspired by the world around me. The colors are vibrant and the images unique. Each design is imbued with a sense of action and movement.

I love tote bags myself, and I use them for all kinds of things. My tastes are always in the unusual, unexpected and, ideally, eco-friendly. The bag bases, although mass produced in China, were purchased from a resale auction, allowing me to use quality bags without creating additional waste/shipping/etc. I source my fabrics for the backing and the applique from a variety of places: my family’s old clothing, leftovers from my local arts center, odd lots from the creative reuse store, and de-stashers on Facebook. Giving these things a second life (or third!) life and keeping them out of landfills is my primary goal. I do buy thread new, unless I can also source it from de-stashers or creative reuse.

To make these fun carry-all bags, I create an embroidered image on a piece of fabric and then attach that fabric to the bag. (I call these patch bags.) On some of the bags, I will build a “crazy quilt” style image directly on the bag itself.

The basic tote bag measures 15”x16”, not including the handles.

Although the stitching is more secure than it may look, I would still recommend hand washing these. I have used a tiny amount of gentle laundry soap with room temp water, rinsing thoroughly and spreading out to air dry. I iron them before shipping and recommend using a tea towel or other cloth between the bag and the iron. Note a few designs do have sequins attached, and they have not melted during ironing, but I would suggest caution ironing directly on those designs.

Hand delivery is available in the greater New Kensington or Pittsburgh Pennsylvania area