Swim Bag, Take Three

I think I'm going to keep gifting these until every kid I know has one.  It's a practical gift, but still kinda fun.  This bag was for a five-year-old who likes pink.  I made hers the same as my niece's, although I must have marked the drawstring openings wrong, because they were off a bit.  Still functional, fortunately, since I didn't realize it until it would have required serious tear-inducing seam ripping.

The birthday girl really likes pink, so my original plan was to have a pink zipper and drawstring, but Joann's didn't have any appropriate pink cord.  The PUL lining is very, very pink, though! Hopefully that pinked it up enough for her liking.

I love this print.  After making a play sling and a dress from it, I'm down to just a few scraps.  It's so girly and spring-like.  And I'm so very done with winter.  It appears that winter is not done with me, however.

In completely unrelated, but nonetheless awesome news, check out the envelope art on this pattern I won from What Nancy Drew Wore.  Pretty much the coolest ever.  I think I'm going to frame it to hang in my sewing room.

Doodle Swim Bag

One of my nieces had a birthday earlier this week, and my sister suggested that she could use a bag like O's for swim club.  I was happy to oblige.  I've probably mentioned this before, but one of my favorite things about blogging is that it's so helpful for gift ideas for friends and family.  That and my project notes are in one permanent place instead of scribbled on scraps of paper that I subsequently throw away or lose.

My niece is still into peace signs, so I was excited when I found this fabric that looks like it's been doodled.  Isn't it perfect for a tween? I thought the black background would be good for the dirt and muck potential of a locker room floor too.

I made it almost the same way as I made O's, but I did make the changes to the drawstring casing that I mentioned wishing I'd done.  This time I cut the two outer pieces to 14x20" (2" longer") and the one PUL lining piece to the same 14x35".  I left openings in the side seams of the outer between 1 5/8" from the top and 3/4" further down.  When I sewed the lining and outer together, then turned and stitched in the ditch, it created a casing just of the outer cotton turned to the inside.

As I'd hoped, this cinched up much more tightly than O's did with the PUL in the casing.

PUL-lined zipper pocket

The drawstring straps are probably too long, but that's easy enough for my sister to customize for my niece.  She can just retie the strings a bit shorter and trim the ends.

Star Wars Swim Bag

O's class recently started swimming lessons at the local YWCA, and it seemed he needed a special wet bag to put his things in.  A regular plastic bag did not seem to offer enough incentive to not just throw his damp towel and swim trunks right in his regular backpack...  

I suggested a drawstring backpack, and he requested that it be Star Wars, specifically with a light saber on it.  The original plan was to applique one on, but when E. and I made a quick trip to Joann's a few weeks back, I spotted this comic print and knew he'd love it.  He'd just gotten this old Return of the Jedi graphic novel at Goodwill and thought it was pretty cool.

I used this lined drawstring backpack tutorial, but enlarged it a bit.  The outer fabric pieces were 14x18", and for the PUL lining, I just cut one 14x35" piece, eliminating the bottom seam.

I also changed the pocket to use an inset zipper, like this.  My zipper was 9" long, so I added 2" to the PUL I used to line the pocket.

The one change I would make next time would be to cut the outer a bit longer and the lining shorter, so that the casing was just the outer fabric folded to the inside.  The PUL is a bit bulky to close, especially with the fabric from the seam allowance taking up room as well. It's still functional, though, and O. likes it a lot. So far he has come home every week with the wet stuff IN it.  Yay!