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YOGA BAGPattern: McCall's 4261
Fabrics Used: knit print, light green fleece
Made: September 2009
Time: About an hour and a half
Cost: About $12.00
Made for: Fitness Yoga class
I'm taking Fitness Yoga at school, and I needed a yoga mat. Did you know how expensive yoga gear can be? I found a cheap bright pink mat, but I wasn't about to pay $25 for a canvas bag...especially when I knew I had a pattern lying around that I could use.
The fabric was on sale at JoAnn's. I love love love this print...even though Patrick hates it. I also purchased cording and a button (well, two buttons, but I only used one). When I got home, however, I realized that I didn't like how thin the bag would end up. I wanted something a bit sturdier. Luckily, I remembered that I had a vast quantity of light green fleece lying around, so I used it to make a backing.
The main modification I did (besides the backing) was to make a strap using the knit on one side and the fleece on the other rather than using a length of webbing. I thought it was prettier...plus I forgot to buy the webbing. But it worked.
I also didn't add the velcro closure on the pocket. I'm not a fan of velcro, plus I don't feel like I'll be putting enough stuff in the pocket to merit adding it. So the button is just there to be pretty.
Something you'll discover as I post more sewing projects is that I hate interfacing. Hate it, hate it, hate it. I avoid it as much as possible. Therefore, there was no interfacing used in this project. I just used the fleece backing to stiffen the bottom of the bag.
Also, I sewed it with pink thread. I thought that pink topstitching added a nice touch.
What I should have done was measure the length of my mat. There's a good four to six inches of bag that closes over the mat. If I make this pattern again, I'll measure the bag so that it just closes over the top, rather than having all that extra.
So far, it works really well. It's sturdy but lightweight, and super soft. Plus I think that print is super cute.
