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Some fabric collections make you stop and think about what to sew. This one told me almost immediately.
When Belle Brunner of Seams Sew Me invited me to take part in the Always Project Hop for her new Always collection with Benartex, I kept coming back to the same idea: these fabrics needed to become gifts.
The collection was designed around love, weddings, and the people we want beside us for all of life’s biggest moments. Between the wedding cakes, hearts, flowers, meaningful phrases, and pearlescent details, the prints already feel like a celebration.
So I made two Grapeful Wine Bottle Totes.
The Grapeful Tote is a tall, slim bag designed to hold a bottle of wine, but it also works for sparkling cider, specialty oils, and other bottled gifts. It is quick to sew, uses a small amount of fabric, and gives you a gift bag the recipient can use again.
That shape made it a natural choice for these prints.
For the first tote, I centered the wedding cake design on the front. The stacked cake, tiny hearts, flowers, and Always and Forever wording run beautifully down the length of the bag. The narrow shape gives the feature print room to shine without cutting the design into smaller pieces.
The second tote uses the typography print filled with wedding words and phrases. Forever, I Love You, Just Married, and Better Together wrap around the bag, so you notice something different every time you turn it.
The soft coral, teal, plum, and warm neutral colors give the collection a wedding feel without limiting it to one traditional wedding palette. These totes could be gifted for a wedding, engagement, anniversary, bridal shower, or even as a thank-you for someone who helped make a special day possible.
You can see the full Always collection by Belle of Seams Sew Me on the Benartex website.
I did not want the coordinating prints to stop at the outside of the bags.
The cake-print tote has a soft beige tonal lining that keeps the warm, romantic look going. The word-print tote opens to a cream and teal floral lining. Both choices coordinate with the exterior without competing with it.
That is one of my favorite parts of sewing handmade bags. You get to choose the little surprise waiting inside.
Always also has pearlescent details that catch the light as the fabric moves. The finish is subtle. You still see and feel the cotton weave, but certain flowers, dots, and decorative areas have a soft glow when the light hits them.
It is the kind of detail that is difficult to appreciate on a fabric swatch alone. Once it becomes a finished gift, the shimmer adds just enough to make the project feel special.
A bottle of wine is already a popular wedding or anniversary gift. Placing it inside a handmade tote changes the whole presentation.
The tote becomes part of the gift instead of something that gets thrown away with the wrapping. The recipient can use it the next time they give a bottle, display it, or keep it as a reminder of the celebration.
If you would like to make your own, the Grapeful Tote PDF sewing pattern is beginner-friendly and can be sewn in about an hour. You can also browse the full Grapeful Tote collection for more gift-sewing options.
Want more ideas for using this pattern beyond weddings? Read Sew the Perfect Wine Tote for Every Occasion.
These totes are part of the Always Handmade: Gifts for the People We Love Project Hop, featuring projects made with Belle Brunner’s Always collection for Benartex.
Visit the Benartex master project-hop schedule to see all of the participating makers and their projects.
You can also follow Belle of Seams Sew Me on Instagram and Benartex Fabrics on Instagram for more projects from the collection.
Happy sewing,
Amanda
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