21 February 2011

yoga mat bag

We celebrated Matt's mom's birthday this weekend with some great pasta from our little local pizzeria and then some antique shopping. It was a lovely day. Joan has been doing a lot of yoga lately, so I made a bag for her to carry her mat to class. I used the pattern from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing, and it's a super-quick, very satisfying project.

The bag is constructed like a rectangular sleeve with a drawstring at the top and a handle down the length. Other bags I've seen are sewn as a tube with a zipper, and Lotta's version is so much simpler. Awesome. And it's got a cute little pocket on the front for your car keys or yoga accessories (socks?).

Speaking of bags for Mamas, I am also knee-deep in an Amy Butler Weekender bag for my Mom's birthday. This one is not a super-quick project, though it is an immensely satisfying one in its own way. It's a doozy: bias-covered cording, lining, zipper, pockets, and enough timtex to hold up the wall of China. I love it. And I think the end product is going to be absolutely awesome. I've had this pattern sitting in my stack of to-do's ever since it came out, and I'm so happy Mom gave me a kick in the pants to get it out and start sewing. So more on that soon, with pix. :)

4 comments:

house on hill road said...

both of these projects have been on my to-do list for a long time. i think the yoga bag is probably more my speed. can't wait to see your weekender!

amy h said...

That weekender bag is awesome. I have always been afraid of it. I mentally file it under when-I'm-able-to-sew-better.

Jennie said...

oooohhhh!! Can I borrow that pattern? I bought a really ugly Yoga mat bag at Wal-Mart -- I'd much prefer to make myself one. :)

xoxo

p.s. matt was a good sport to model this one!

julieree said...

Erin and Amy, The weekender really hasn't been too bad. Her instructions are very well-done, so I'm just going from step to step. I haven't gotten to the zipper or lining insertion yet, so we'll hope I don't have to eat my words! xo

Jennie, mais oui! your homemade bag will be oh-so-chic and all your yoga-mates will be jealous. Matt is a good sport. In a couple of the pictures I didn't post, you can see that he is watching ESPN while modeling. Multi-tasker.