Beach tote DIY

A friend of mine is going to Mexico during spring break.  She wants to make a beach tote and found a great tutorial on line for a reversible one. It makes a very large tote bag. 

http://somethingturquoise.com/2014/05/02/diy-honeymoon-beach-bag/

When it came to figuring out how to resize it smaller my friend called on me for some help.  This is what we came up with. 

Cut the two pieces of fabric 15" wide x 27 1/2" L.    The corner square at 2" .  These measurements make a bag about 11" high x 13 1/2" across at top of bag,  4" wide.  Just a good size for a novel, sunscreen, water bottle and snacks. 

Since we weren't using heavy decor fabric, we interlined it with sturdy muslin.  Just cut the muslin to the same size as the two fabrics, put it on the wrong side of lining fabric and proceed like it is just one piece of fabric.

Here is the one I made using reclaimed vintage sheet material ( The pink floral ),  and a cheerful, lightweight twill stripe fabric.

My friend is using the same twill but with a different second fabric.  Her choice of color combination is very elegant!  See how these go together so great.

DIY fun is even better when shared with a friend. 

What is your favorite size of tote bag?