Do you know how to measure a tote bag?

Did you know that various bag styles are measured differently? I didn’t! Sometimes the bag size referenced online can be deceiving. It can also be hard to determine the size from a picture, if the bag is not carried by a model.

Here are some useful hints to look out for and important terms to know…

First thing to know is a Gusset – huh? The gusset defines the depth of the bag. While some bags don’t have a gusset – many styles have a bottom seam that defines the depth of the bag.

There are two types to distinguish by:

1 ) T-Gusset also called “Single Seam Gusset”. ’T’ – because it looks like an upside down ’T’.

The gusset depth is only defined at the bottom of the bag.
The bag is stitched using 1 – 2 fabric panels that are sewn together and an extra seam is added at the bottom of the bag – the whole bag is minimally structured.

2 ) Box Gusset, also referred to as ‘U’ Gusset or ‘All-Around Gusset” features 2 vertical seams on each side of the bag.

Commonly the box gusset would be a separate piece of fabric that would be inserted between the front and back panel of the bag.
Having a box gusset will certainly give your bag a more structured square shape.

A T-Gusset Tote is being measured with the bag laying flat ( from seam to seam ). By doing so, keep in mind the gusset gets factored into the width measurement. So if you have a 18” seam to seam measurement with a 15”H and a 6” Gusset, once your bag is filled with goodies you would have a volume of only 13”W x 15”H x 6” D and your frontal area would only be 13”W x 15”H.

A Box Gusset on the contrary is being measured very straight-forward – frontal Seam-to-Seam, so the gusset is a separate measurement and automatically excluded.

So, first be on the lookout of what type of bag you are looking at ‘T’ or ‘U’ and then dive into the sizing. Still have doubts – call our customer service or write us an email for more explanations.