I am a super disorganized person. I tend to keep my bags especially messy by throwing all my crap in them and just praying that I’ll find it again.
However, these little bags make me want to stay organized because they’re just so darn cute! They are also ridiculously easy and inexpensive to make. For the bag pictured in this post, I used scrap fabric from a previous project but you can find cheap fabric at your local thrift store or even the clearance section of your local fabric store! Either way, you don’t need much fabric, materials or time to make these.
The best part about making your own travel bag is that they’re super fun to customize. For this one, I simply stitched a pocket onto the front and used acrylic paint (which works great on fabric) to write my name in cursive.
When making this bag, you want to pick out a thick, heavy duty fabric that will keep the shape of the bag such as canvas, denim, ottoman fabric, etc. Most heavy duty fabrics won’t fray so you don’t have to finish your edges. However, if I do use a fabric that frays, I like to dab on a little bit of fray stop or clear nail polish to the edges of the fabric to prevent it from withering away over time. Alternatively, you can zig zag stitch your edges but I am way too lazy for that and always end up busting out the clear nail polish instead.
If you don’t have much sewing experience, you can definitely hand stitch this bag using a simple back stitch method. It will take more time than if you were to use a machine, but it’s still fun to do while you watch a movie or sit outside. Find a good tutorial on how to hand sew a backstitch here.
Whatever method you choose to follow, have some fun personalizing these bags! They’re great for keeping organized and will hold practically anything you want from your toiletries and makeup to your office or school supplies. They’re also great to give as gifts to practically anyone and I even use them as an alternative to wrapping paper if I’m feeling extra thoughtful 😉
If you do end up making your own travel bag, be sure to post it and share your creations under the hashtag #seatofmypants and tag me on instagram @theseatofonespants so that I can see them as well! Happy sewing!
DIY Travel Bag
Equipment
- Sewing Machine (optional)
Materials
- approx 1/2 yard Fabric thick or heavy duty
- 1 Zipper 15 inches or longer
- Matching thread
- Sewing shears
- Hand sewing needle if not using machine
- Pins
Instructions
- First, review this pattern I created. You're going to need to reference this later.
- Using a ruler and something to mark with (chalk, etc), measure, trace and cut out the pattern from your fabric using the measurements provided.
- After you're done, your fabric should look like this.
- Sew the zipper to the cut out fabric by stitching the right side of your zipper to side A of your fabric, right sides together.
- Take the left side of your zipper and sew it onto side B by stitching the right sides together. This will connect side A to side C and ultimately make your fabric look like a hot dog. Unzip your zipper halfway (this is super important in making sure you're able to turn your bag inside out after sewing is completed so don't forget).
- Next, you are going to take the short side of your bag (side B) and using a 1/2 seam allowance, stitch it right sides together. Repeat on side D.
- Your bag should now resemble this shape. Reference this photo for the next step.
- Here's where the bag starts to come together. Fold corner #1 flat, pinch together with Side D and pin.
- Repeat on the other three corners. It should look something like this.
- Using a half inch seam allowance, sew the pinned sides together. You should now have something that resembles a 3D rectangle.
- Cut off the excess zipper, threads and turn inside out.
- Voila! You have a brand new travel bag! You can choose to add a front storage pocket by stitching on an extra piece of fabric to the front or you can leave it plain! Customize it however you want and be sure to post your creations and tag @theseatofonespants so that I can see them as well! 🙂
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