this is a tote bag i painted and had sewn myself. i made the bag from a bed sheet id purchased from a charity shop, and i also used this fabric in two other tote bag projects as well as in other projects, such as the crisp dress.
to create the bag, i referenced totes i already owned and made patterns using tissue paper. for the first two bags i did, i cut the back and front panels separately. but for the third, i decided to keep these panels as one large piece as i noticed most of my tote bags do this. i suppose this is because otherwise the weight of whats in the bag runs the risk of ripping open the seam.
to paint the fabric, i have a found a method i like to use.
i mark out the space to paint in with masking tape. i always keep a piece of cardboard beneath the fabric so that the paint will not leak through and show on any other fabric. using liquitex fabric medium, and white acrylic paint, i prime the fabric. this can take a couple layers. having an already there layer of paint makes it much easier to paint on top of, as painting straight onto fabric is difficult.
once this is dry, i like to very lightly sketch out the design, and then simply paint, trying build light and base colours first before adding shadings and details. in this case, i did lineart and this comes last, as opposed to say a digital drawing.