cargo duffle

Hello friends, did you have a nice weekend?

 I spent most of my Saturday working on a Cargo Duffle bag (free tutorial by Anna/ Noodlhead here).

 I went back and forth way too many times trying to decide what fabric to use and I'm really glad I finally settled on a combination of Doe quilting cotton and thin denim for the exterior of the bag.

This is my second Cargo Duffle and while I was ok with the way my first one looked, there were a few things I wanted to change this time. I did a little research to see what others who made the bag had to say about it and I found quite a few very useful blog posts. I especially found this post very helpful and informative and while I did not do all the changes, it was a great source of reference for me.

As you have probably noticed already I decided to omit cargo pockets and install one longish zipper pocket on the outside as I find this kind of pocket to be more useful.

I also used pre-made piping to add a little bit more color to the exterior. I just love how simple touches like this can have such great impact on the overall look of the bag.

One of the greatest discoveries for me was to learn there was a way to turn my 26" coverall zipper, which comes with zipper pulls on each end, into a perfect bag zipper where both zipper pulls meet in the middle (super handy tutorial here).

I knew right from the beginning I wanted to make fabric covered handles - I used 1.25" wide cotton webbing and cut my quilting cotton at 4.5" which was a perfect width to wrap around the handles. Now, these handles are not the easiest to make but I found out using tons of Wonder clips to hold layers together and sewing at slower than usual speed really helps.

I also added leather tabs at each end of main zipper to have something to grab onto when closing, opening the bag.

I originally thought of using coordinating fabric for the lining but I changed my mind right before cutting and went with this bright Anna Maria Horner fabric instead. And I'm so glad I did as it's such a lovely, bright contrast to this duffle's exterior.

I fused SF101 to my lining pieces and assembled it the same way I did the bag exterior (with the exception of zipper of course). I then placed the lining inside the exterior and hand stitched it to zipper tape. I won't lie, this was a tedious and pretty painful process as I poked myself with pins way too many times. That said, I still think it was well worth is as I like how lining makes this bag more sturdy and I was also able to add one more zipper pocket on the inside.

I'm very happy with the way my duffle bag turned out. I just wish I had hardware and enough webbing to make a long adjustable strap to attach to sides. Well, there's always next time :).

Oh, and I used walking foot while doing pretty much all the sewing, except for the zipper parts.

I'll be packing this bag for my Sewtopia Chicago retreat in a few weeks. Can't wait. Are any of you going? It would be so fun to meet up. Svetlana