The Teacher Tote from LLK- The perfect holiday teacher gift!

The holidays are creeping up super quickly, but you've still got plenty of time to whip up some heart felt and useful gifts for the teachers in your life. Here's Erica to tell you about The Teacher Tote from Little Lizard King.

Hi, I'm Erica again from Lollipops & Paisley. I’m here today to talk about handmade gifts. I love giving teachers something handmade. Pinterest is full of ideas, but I love giving something both handmade and useful! My sister is an elementary music teacher. As much as she LOVES getting gifts from her students, she does admit that they are a lot of repeats and they’re not always useful. How many mugs with cocoa mix can you use over the years? So how about something teachers can USE? Well, Little Lizard King has the super easy tote bag pattern that makes the perfect gift!

Think about it, your child(ren)’s teacher(s) are going to all sorts of little gifts. What they really need is something to carry those gifts home! The Easy Tote Bag Pattern comes in five sizes (from kid carry-all to super large beach tote) and makes the great all-purpose gift for any age. I chose the medium size, labeled as Teacher Tote. You want to use a decor or bottom weight fabric for this so that you have a sturdy bag.

This pattern has clear, easy to follow instructions. It doesn’t have large, printable square pattern pieces, just measurements. But we could all save a little ink, right? If you’re making several bags in multiple sizes, you could just print the page with measurements (I did). Beginners can even handle this pattern! The bag is a quick sew yet yields a professional look! Did I mention it’s reversible? I used a regular cotton for my lining, but if you used thicker fabrics, it makes a great reversible bag!

I also LOVE personalized gifts. This bag is for my 7 year old son’s teacher, Ms. Holeman. My teenager had her when she went to the same elementary school and we adore her! I wanted to make this bag extra special, so I used the Itch2Stitch Elegant Scroll One Color Monogram font to embroider an H on the front of this bag instead of the pocket option the pattern includes. I use this monogram for all sorts of gifts! Those $5 fleece scarves from Walmart? Add a 5” monogram and they look so much more classy! That’s exactly what I did for teacher gifts last year! If you don’t have an embroidery machine (I’ve only had mine for right at a year now), these tote bags are just as personalized for the special teacher in your life.