My New Toiletries Bag - A Process Post

One of the crafty things I did before I left on my trip this summer was to make a new toiletries bag.  My old one was a Clinique freebie that was at least a decade old, and had certainly seen better days.  Even though the old one was ugly, the real motivation was that the zipper was breaking.  A toiletries kit isn't much use if the zipper is broken.

My LQS had some wonderful laminated fabrics.  The one on the left is Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey, and the one on the right is Rose Peacock Feathers from Soul Blossoms by Amy Butler.  I think they look nice together although this probably wouldn't have been my first choice if there had been more of a selection, but laminates don't come in very many prints.  I had never worked with laminate before, so I solicited help from the Instagram community, and as always, everyone was very helpful!  It's so great to be part of such a wonderful group of people who are always willing to give advice.

I measured my old bag and cut the Soul Blossoms fabric 1" larger.  I made some piping (straight of grain because laminate doesn't stretch) with the Nicey Jane and stitched it all the way around the outside of each rectangular piece.  If I was to do this again, I would make the piping join in the center of the bottom instead of at the corners - it would make the gusset and the zipper go in much easier, I think.

Essentially, I made two bags - the outside and the lining - and joined them together.  If I had it to do over, I would be sure to use a double separating zipper and sew a tab on the bottom of the zipper on both sides so I had something to grab while zipping and unzipping.  Joining the outside and the lining is a little tricky in some places, but I just kept at it until I got it mostly correct (yes, my seam ripper became my best friend for awhile - you can see at the bottom of the zipper on the right where the machine didn't catch the lining the first time... oops!)

I am pretty pleased with the finished product.  It is the perfect size and shape, just like my other one.  It held up well during my trip this summer, which is nice.  I'm really glad I put the laminate on the inside, since on the very first plane ride, my body lotion oozed out of its container and made a mess.  The laminate made it super simple to clean up.