How To Make A Heart Beach Tote

Before heading out to catch some rays, learn to craft your own summer bag that's also perfect for traveling.

By Laurel Pantin

July 25, 2012

1/15
Glue Thin Ropes To The Felt
Plug your hot glue gun in to get it warmed up. Be careful not to burn yourself! Once the glue gun is warm, take the two smaller ropes, and glue the ends of them together in the middle of your felt, towards the bottom of the sheet. This will be the bottom of your heart design.
2/15
You Will Need
-A large beach bag, like this one from American Apparel
-Neon climbing rope in three bright colors; get two thin ropes and one thick one. You can find these at an outdoor shop like REI.
-Felt in a contrasting color to your beach bag
-Hot glue gun and a few sticks of hot glue
-Scissors

3/15
Continue Laying The Thin Ropes
Working along the inside of the heart border, continue gluing the two thin ropes down. You're working towards a spiral of ropes inside the heart.
4/15
Lay Ropes In A Heart Shape
Continue laying down the ropes in a heart shape, gluing the rope down at every inch or so.

5/15
Glue The Frayed Ends
Once you've glued down the outline of the heart, place a dot of glue on top of the frayed ends of the rope (the first spot you glued them down), and lay the two strands of rope over those ends, so that they're tucked under.
6/15
Apply Strips Of Glue Along The Inside Border
Now that you've established the border of the design, you can put down long strips of glue, and lay the rope along the strips inside.

7/15
Wind Ropes Into A Heart Shape
Continue winding the rope inside the heart shape, gluing it down as you go.
8/15
Cut Ropes
Once you've gotten towards the center of the design, cut the ropes leaving one or two inches of extra length.

9/15
Coil, Glue, And Tuck The Ends
Coil the ropes around each other, and glue them down in the center of the heart. Try and tuck the ends of the rope under the solid lengths.
10/15
Glue Thick Rope Along The Outside
Take the thicker rope, and glue it along the outside of the heart.

11/15
Cut The Heart Shape Out Of The Felt
Cut the heart shape out of the felt leaving about 1 centimeter of extra felt all around the perimeter of the rope heart.
12/15
Check The Finished Heart
The finished heart should look like this.

13/15
Apply Glue To Heart
Apply a generous amount of hot glue to the back side of the heart, on the felt.
14/15
Press Heart Onto Bag
Press the heart onto the bag, and hold it in place until it is secure.

15/15
The Finished Tote

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