Noodlehead Wool and Wax Tote | Sewing Pattern Review

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Thinking of sewing your own bag? Here’s my sewing pattern review of the Noodlehead Wool and Wax Tote.

I thought I’d try sewing a tote bag. I already admire the work of Noodlehead patterns. I have sewn a few of the smaller projects. This was my first bigger project

I wanted to try a basic, yet practical tote bag and so I thought I’d try the Noodlehead Wool and Wax Tote.

The Noodlehead Wool and Wax Tote

This is a good, basic tote. It is fully lined and features a divided exterior pocket, as well as an interior pocket.

Despite its simple design, it is practical. It holds my laptop and other work-related items. It’s not too big. I don’t feel overwhelmed by the size of this bag, yet it holds everything I need.

The name implies that you would use wool or waxed canvas fabrics to make this tote but you can really use a variety of fabrics.

While quilting cotton offers so many beautiful designs, you may need to double up on the interfacing if you decide to use it for the exterior of the bag. You want to make sure there is enough structure so that the bag holds its shape. Even with canvas and wool, you need some interfacing.

Quilting cotton does work beautifully for the exterior pocket, lining, and interior pocket.

Sewing Pattern Review

The Noodlehead Wool and Wax Tote basically consists of a bunch of rectangles. For that reason, it is advised to cut all of your pieces with a good ruler, rotary cutter, and a large cutting mat.

Be sure to use the recommended interfacing as you do need it for the structure and for the bag to have some shape. A lot of interfacing is used – pretty much every single piece and so I found that the greatest cost in making these bags is this.

I preferred using my regular sewing machine for making the Wool & Wax tote. Since I used mainly home decor fabrics, which are a little thicker, I found that my sewing machine worked better. Also, using a sewing machine enables you to open up seams to reduce bulk when sewing – with a serger, your seams are together and it creates more bulk.

For my first Noodlehead Wool and Wax tote, I treated it as a test piece and used cheap fabric. Believe it or not, the main fabric for this bag is a canvas drop cloth from the dollar store! I had some leftover end cut, home decor fabric that I used for the pockets and lining.

Now that I made one, it was time to make a few tweaks to the Noodlehead Wool and Wax Tote, making it the perfect bag.

First off, the handles. The pattern calls for 28 inches long, but I prefer a little shorter. I prefer handles that are 25 inches long. They also recommend 1 inch wide, but I prefer 1.5 inches wide.

Instead of using webbing for handles, leather could also be used. I found some deadstock leather scraps that were long enough and I was able to cut my own straps. Leather, even scrap pieces, are not cheap so you’ll have to shop around. Make sure it is long enough.

The leather I had was not quite thick enough and I was worried it would stretch out. So I sewed it onto some cotton webbing. It worked really well.

Another nice added touch includes rivets to the exterior pocket, as well as the handles. You can use regular rivets or something called Chicago screws. The Chicago screws look like rivets but are a bit stronger and sturdier.

Puncturing the fabric can be challenging – especially the leather and so an awl works well for that.

In order to make the rivets more secure for the handles, I added a piece of leather on the back. This extra layer prevents the rivets from going right through the fabric.

I also used a magnetic closure to the top of my tote as I like the idea of being able to close it. I added an extra piece of interfacing on the backside of the lining to help stabilize the application.

I got all of those items online. You can also get them at fabric stores or craft stores. They were easy to apply. To cut the slits to insert the magnetic closures, I used my seam ripper. It worked well.

With a couple of minor tweaks and a couple of embellishments, I managed to sew the perfect tote! The Wool and Wax tote is such a great pattern. I’m so glad I gave bag-making a try.

Now one of the recommended fabrics for the base of the Wool and Wax coat is waxed canvas. This is 100% cotton canvas that has been coated in wax to make it waterproof. Some online fabric retailers carry this fabric and it is not cheap. You can make your own waxed canvas, but my understanding is that it is a messy job and requires a separate iron to do so.

As an alternative to waxed canvas, I used tweed home decor/coating fabric. It was sturdy enough to work as a base for the bag I still added interfacing and I am happy with how it turned out. You can see how I used it for a couple of bags above.

I was fortunate to also come across some moleskin cotton with DWR repellant on it. This was a thinner fabric and so I added some Pellon flex foam to it so that it would have a bit of shape and structure.

I’ve made quite a few Wool and Wax Totes now. They make great gifts. I use one daily. It holds my laptop easily, as well as all the other incidentals I need. Make a couple of matching zippered pouches to go with it to hold all those little things as well!

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