Yoga Mat Bags

I bought a yoga mat to use at home because I was tired of my feet slipping around on the floor, plus, if I go to a yoga class somewhere, at least I know mine is clean. Anyway, I thought I should make a bag instead of buying an expensive one. I found some fabric I must have purchased some time ago on a discount and decided on that, thankfully I also had some leftover matching string to use for the drawstring-so I didn't have to buy a thing.

This bag was so easy to make, no instructions needed, no pattern, just figure it out-i love that.

It was so fun to make the one that I made another for a friend who has recently started going to yoga classes and has a mat but not a bag. I highly recommend this project as a gift or for yourself. I think the total time between measuring, cutting, sewing, and putting the mat in the bag was about 30 minutes.

For my mat I needed about a little over a yard to make this.  

Directions: 

1. Roll up the mat and place on fabric (the length of the fabric).

2. Wrap the fabric around the mat leaving a couple of inches extra and use that as your cut point for the circumference.

3. To cut the length, just cut a couple of inches beyond the bottom of the mat and a couple of inches above the mat.

4. Cut the strap to about 34 inches long and 7 inches wide.

5. Cut the bottom of the bag by placing the mat standing up and cutting a circle around the bottom leaving about an inch beyond where the mat is.

6. Take the strap and press a 1/4" seam on all edges. Fold the strap in half and press. Sew the strap on the open side with the wrong sides together, sewing all the way around the entire strap using a 1/4" seam (this gives it a nice finished look).

7. Take the fabric for the tube of the bag and with the right sides together, 1/4" seam where you want the top to be. Then, press a 1/2" seam over that 1/4" seam.  Sew the edge of the seam.

8. With the right sides of the tube together, sew down the length of the tube, but don't sew the edge that you have pressed (otherwise you won't be able to get the drawstring through).

9.  Sew the bottom of the bag to the bottom of the tube by keeping tube wrong side out and placing the round bottom over the bottom of the bag. Sew the round bottom to the bottom of the bag without sewing the bag together.

10. Sew the strap to the bag by placing one end at the bottom seam of the bag and sewing. I used a zig zag stitch and sewed a small square to make the strap extra secure.  Then take the other side of the strap and place it at the bottom of your top seam and sew a small square.

11.  Finally, take whatever you are using for a drawstring and attach a safety pin to it and weave it through the casing you made for the drawstring then tie the drawstring together and there you go, you have your yoga mat bag.