Klum House Fremont Tote in green dry oilskin with contrast print pocket. Photo by Modern Domestic.

I made this Fremont tote to advertise my January 2025 bag-making class at Modern Domestic in Portland, Oregon. The construction is straightforward and the bag comes together quickly thanks to Klum House’s excellent instructions and diagrams. This is a great project for folks interested in bag-making who want to build confidence and add new skills to their repertoire.

Pattern

Klum House Fremont Tote Bag (skill level: confident beginner)

Need support? Check out the Fremont online course on Craftsy.

Fremont Pendleton Wool Pocket Expansion for substituting a non-canvas fabric for the external pocket

Fabric & Supplies

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Klum House offers Fremont kits with pre-cut leather and hardware, full maker kits in your choice of colors, and an essential tool bundle.

Exterior fabric: Merchant & Mills Organic Cotton Dry Oilskin in Fern (245 gsm / 7.2 oz)

I purchased my fabric from Modern Domestic, but I’ve also had a great experience ordering different colorways from Charlotte’s Webbing.

Exterior pocket fabric: Leaf Cotton Linen Canvas from the Bloom collection designed by bookhou for Kokka Fabrics
Lining fabric: Robert Kaufman Big Sur Canvas in Unbleached
Pellon SF101 Shape Flex Fusible Interfacing for exterior pocket
14" brass YKK #5 zipper in black
3/4" wide leather strap (5–7 oz) in black for handles and tabs
1" wide leather strap (5–7 oz) in black for cross-body strap
Leather washers and zipper pulls in black
2 x small and 10 x medium double-cap rivets in black and brass
2 x Chicago screws in black
3 x 3/4" brass D-Rings for key ring and cross-body strap attachment
2 x 1" swivel hooks in gold for removable cross-body strap attachment
Schmetz Jeans/Denim 90/14 needle
Sarah Hearts woven label

Tools:

Modifications

I used a lighter-weight printed fabric for the exterior pocket by following the instructions for the Fremont Pendleton Wool Pocket Expansion. This expansion adds an additional pattern piece to ensure that the bottom of the bag is made of your exterior fabric.

Instead of using Heat n Bond to fuse the exterior pocket and lining fabric as suggested, I interfaced the wrong side of the exterior pocket and basted it to the lining, then finished the top edge as instructed. Next time I'd omit the interfacing from the top edge to remove a bit of bulk in the double-fold hem.

I used a mix of brass and black hardware—brass when I wanted to highlight the hardware, and black when I wanted it to blend in to the bag (exterior pocket reinforcement rivet, Chicago screws).
I omitted O-Rings and instead used D-Rings on the sides of the bag with 1" wide swivel hooks on the cross-body strap to make the strap removable. I cut the strap to ~42” long so the bag would sit at my low back when worn.

I modified the hardware to make the cross-body strap removable. Photo by Modern Domestic.

Sewing Notes

Dry oilskin is a wonderful alternative to waxed canvas for folks with sensory sensitivities. I love the look and practicality of waxed canvas, but I really disliked the feeling of wax all over my hands, legs, and machine after making previous Klum House bags. The Merchant & Mills dry oilskin is easy and pleasant to work with.
The Klum House instructions say to install the exterior pocket reinforcement rivet through just the pocket and exterior panel, but the instructions come after the gap in the lining is closed up. If you don’t want the rivet to be seen on the lining, remember to install the rivet earlier!
I added a second row of topstitching when attaching the interior pocket to the lining for additional durability and to better tack down the inside raw edges of the patch pocket.

Interior of the bag showing zipper closure, interior slip pocket, and handle attachment via double-cap rivets. Photo by Modern Domestic.

Notes for Next Time

Enlarge the interior pocket so it's big enough to fit my Kindle.
Customize the leather strap with stamped letters.

The length of the cross-body strap is cut exactly to your liking. Photo by Modern Domestic.

Keep In Touch

Thanks very much for reading! If you’d like in-person support and instruction, please sign up for my classes at Modern Domestic or reach out to schedule a private lesson. If you have any questions, feedback, or corrections regarding this post, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

klum house fremont tote