so that the stripe will line up. you can accomplish this by folding the fabric and cutting them together so they look exactly the same.
now fold the top edge of all four pieces under 1/4″ and press in place (check out these tips for pressing.) don’t skip the pressing, it will save you tons of time at the end.
now take the two outside pieces and line them up right sides together. pin on the sides first making sure that the stripes line up. then you can adjust the other edges once the piece is sewn.
this tote is reversible so you will want to trim the corners and turn the corners 