A Market Tote à la Bijou Lovely
As a gift giver for Carl, I’m kind of lame: I usually get him things he needs but doesn’t want to spend his own money on (like jeans, sandals, etc…). For his birthday this year, I decided to supplement that with yet another item he maybe needs: a bag for his cycling stuff so that he doesn’t have to use our reusable grocery bags. This way he has a dedicated bag that won’t get co-opted for other uses.
Bijou Lovely has a great tutorial for a market tote that I based his bag on. Her instructions are clear, she has plenty of photos to illustrate what she’s talking about, and the result is a very roomy, practical, quick tote. For most purposes, it needs no changes.
Modifications
That said, it is a little feminine and has no pockets, which were two cons for my purposes. But both were easily modified.