Crafty Pursuits: DIY Bikini Bag (keep the rest of your luggage dry)

When I go on a vacation that mandates I bring along a bathing suit, it's pretty much assumed that said bathing suit will be wet by the time I have to pack up and go home. And then I do the frantic plastic bag search... sound familiar?

But then, some genius invited the bikini bag. I don't know who it was, but it was a grand idea: bring your bathing suit home wet, keep the rest of your stuff dry. The science behind it is basic stuff, so I assumed I could make one myself.

In Mandy-Fashion, I went out, bought the supplies for 4 bikini bags (for the maids) and then let them sit in my craft room for the appropriate amount of "aging". Everyone knows that you have to "age" stuff before you can use it - at least, everyone in my family knows that.

In more Mandy-Fashion, I whipped out the supplies last weekend and decided to "just go at it" without a plan in mind. Turns out: it worked! Huzzah! Want to make a bikini bag for yourself? Well, if you've got the supplies and about 20-30 minutes, you can... read below:

Supplies:

Supplies

scrap fabric for the bag (I used duck cotton) about 8 x 16 inches
plastic material (I used a lacy tablecloth cover) 8 x 16
6 inch zipper
paper backed fusible webbing enough for the bikini pieces (about 4 sq inches)
fun colored scraps for bikini pieces (4 sq inches worth)
Embroidery floss (about 3-4 inches worth)
Bikini clip art (can be found on google images)

Steps*

Step 1

*Anyone should know that if I am the one making the steps, there is probably a better way to do it, so feel free to improvise... this is just a guideline*
1. First things first: iron a 1/2" seam on your cotton - you'll def. want to do any ironing before you sew on the plastic material!
2. Cut out the bikini and use the fusible webbing as directed to create the bikini pieces in your lovely scrap fabric.
3. Iron the bikini piece to cotton exactly where you want it to be, keeping in mind that if you want your bag to stand up, like mine, you will loose


Step 2

some of the length.
4. Now is a good time to add on the embroidery floss or "strings" of the bikini. I hand-sewed the ties into place, and left the other pieces to be glued down later.
5. Sew the plastic piece under the 1/2" seam, but not attached to it. Be sure that you are sewing the wrong sides together.
6. Sew the zipper onto the 1/2" seam you created in step 1. I can't give more directions than this on zippers: I'm a total novice. I don't even have a zipper foot (read: I have a lot of broken needles)

Step 3

7. Sew the sides of the bag together, using a 1/2" seam allowance.
8. If you want your bag to stand up like mine, sew across the corners.
9. Flip inside out and viola! Instant Bikini bag! You can choose to glue down your "strings" at this point if you'd like, but fabric glue does take a while to dry, so don't touch it for a day or so.