Yoga Mat Bag - Sewing Project

I forget which bet Mr Snork lost, but he ended up tagging along to the 24Hour Fitness classes with me one night when Giraffy couldn’t make it. Now he’s kinda hooked. I guess he thought that we just flail around aimlessly in there, and trade eyeliner tips for an hour. Then he came, sweated for an hour like a squirrel in heat, found out he couldn’t hold a plank as well as the ladies, and rolled around on the floor with a towel over his face during the whole Abs session (aka 15 Minutes of Shame and Drama), and spent an hour of Yoga laying flat on his belly. There may have been some movement, but it wasn’t discernible.

Well, now we’re on this 3 days a week kick, and classes seem to be the only sure way to get us there, and he goes to class, because it probably makes him work harder than he would otherwise. (I saw that bicycle thing he pedals – padded armrests? Really?) And we try to shuffle clubs and schedules go on days that end in Yoga, it's a really nice way to end stupid work out madness.



Anyway, because of a severe global lack of manly yoga mats (I mean, they’re out there, but, $60?) he got the purple one I had, I got a pink one, and I am sewing him a yoga bag so he can look all manly, like he’s just passing on his way to some Big Boy Weights, and happened to accidentally stop in Yoga. Until he gets him a manly mat. Plus, it is a gray, rainy, cold Southern California this week, and perfect for crafts.



I had some manly upholstery weight camouflage fabric in my stash, and some black mystery fabric I had used to line the back of my bookshelves (I guess Ikea didn’t wanna spring for the plywood backing on this particular model).



I eyeballed yoga bags online, and then came across a couple free patterns. I liked Amy Butler's designs, which you can download for free here. I like her fabrics, too.



I like the wide strap (manly-ness potential) and the lining inside makes it look less 'homemade' and more finished. I think I'll make another one for me, in pretty flowery/lizardy/froggy fabrics.

It calls for the main piece to be 19x27, but I cut a 20x35, because I want it to be a little looser, and with enough room on top to fashion a drawstring or some sort of other closure. Amy’s pattern leaves the bag open, which is also OK.

The main outside pocket (I thought was nifty) I cut 20x15 (Instead of 19 x 12) the liner as well, but didn’t divide in 3 equal parts, it would make deep and narrow pockets, that would be a pain to fish keys/cell phone out of. I eyeballed into something like 1.25/.75 width ratio to the total width and made two pockets.

I was really hoping it would be a one night project, but because I eyeballed a lot of measurements instead of measuring, the piecing together became tedious.

I made the strap – 14” width, 35” length, folded in half, then in half again, and sewed along that middle crease. The idea is to turn it inside out. I wanted to center my seam, but if you don't feel like spending 10 minutes turning stuff inside out, you can also just fold the wrong sides together, and fold again the two edges in toward the center (makes 4 layers of fabric) and stitch the strap closed .25” from edge, and run another .25” edge seam on the other side for symmetry.



I attached the wrong side of the Camo Fabric to liner, and stitched .5” seam along top edge. This will be top edge of pocket, if you were using a fabric pattern where it mattered. Turned the right sides out, press flat, and mashine baste .25” edges to attach panels. Then I attached pocket to right side of bottom main panel.



After the pocket is attached, I sewed the main panel shut (right sides together, then turned inside out), and stuck the lucky yoga mat in there to make sure it fits.
I spent a good half hour cutting out circles of various wrong diameter, and eventually settled on the least butchered one. (Yeah, I do all my drafting right on my carpet..)



Basted it in place, learned it was 4” too big (all the way around, if you were competent, it would have been readily apparent before any stitching took place), and took out the stitches. Got the very first circle I cut, that I had deemed too small, and tried it again.



The bottom edge of the ‘bag’ has to be notched, to allow flaring to fit the circle bottom. It didn’t look pretty but it worked.
By the time I basted the second bottom onto the bag, it was 1am. It occurred to me I’ll have to, at least partially, take the basting stitches out to attach the strap (between main panel center seam and bottom).



But I turned it inside out, stuck the yoga mat in there again, and it looked pretty cool, so I’m pleased. I wish I had a "right side out' picture that was a little more aesthetically pleasing, but..alas.



I will figure out today what kind of closing contraption I want on top, and hopefully finish it tonight. I got hooks and a drawstring.. I’m thinking I’ll stitch the strap to the top, fold the top inward, stitch around, and then attach another tube piece – extended the top above the strap, and drawstring that. This way, the strap will be below the strap – the strap plus any layers of the main panel is really thick to sew through for drawstringing and such.

Tonight - Shadow Boxing, Abs, Turbo Kick, and Yoga! (for now, without a bag for Jesse, but hopefully next week he'll be in style and making all the other [1-2] men jealous of his homemade gym stuff.