Toiletry bag

A few years ago, my sister requested a toiletry bag to travel with.  I searched for a patten that would be good and on a friend's suggestion I chose to do a modified version of Heather Ross' overnight bag from her book,  Weekend Sewing.  

My friend had made the bag but had doubled the height to give it a bit more depth to hold taller items.  I liked the shape of the bag and it seemed pretty easy to put together.  I also chose to double the height of the bag, so that my sister could carry larger items.  Along with doubling the height, I needed to adjust the length of the zipper and the top wrap-around of the bag.  I chose a duck canvas for the outside fabric as I wanted it to be sturdy, so that the bag would be able to stand upright.  I also lined the bag with a heavy-weight interfacing.  I didn't want it to flop at all!  I attached a little strap on one side that would allow you to carry the bag easily.

On the inside, I chose to attach an elastic to the top of the pockets, so that they would hold items inside the pockets snugly.  I wasn't a fan of how the pockets were inserted into the pattern, so I cut out rectangular strips that would be the pockets.  I then sewed these onto each of the side panels.  This helped to make the pockets deeper then how they would have been in the original pattern.

I loved how this bag came together and how it looked when it was finished.  And even better, my sister also loved it.  As a little extra gift, I put together some bags (pre-snack sack era!)  These were just made with an inner and outer layer of quilting cotton.  This is being used to carry make-up and other items around with her everyday.