The first time I visited New York City, I was warned not to use a backpack, especially on the metro as that would just invite thieves to help themselves. I didn’t want to carry a purse either, as that just screamed, “Take me! I have money inside!” So…what do you do? You can make your own travel bag!
Six years ago, I made my own cloth tote bag. I designed it with straps long enough to wear over my shoulder but short enough to make it impossible for anyone else to reach in. I added pockets to help me organize and zippers to contain. And I used that tote bag as my go-to travel bag for all of my travels. Here’s a picture of me holding it in Nimes, France.
Well, after six years of constant use, that bag is very worn. I decided I want to make a new one, and this time I would modify a few things. I wanted to add some padding in the shoulder straps, a key clip inside the bag, and a place I could put a water bottle without it turning upside-down in my bag. I liked my zippered pocket inside for money and passport, so I kept that feature. I also wanted to use stiffer interfacing so the bag could stand on its on and keep a nicer shape. And I reinforced the outer pocket.
A comparable bag would probably cost up to $50-$60 (or more!), so making it myself was an economical option. I spent $11.00 on fabric and interfacing. A couple more dollars for a zipper and a hook, plus some thread and a little cotton batting I already had. Total? Under $20. Here are some comparable travel bags I found online:
So now I’m going to show you how to make your own travel bag.
1. Supplies
You will need:
1 yard each of two contrasting fabrics (Fabric A and Fabric B),
1.5 yards of extra-firm interfacing (like Pellon),
One 7″ zipper,
1.5 yards of matching 1″ wide webbing (the easiest way to make handles) or just use your fabric scraps like I did,
Thin cotton batting if you want to pad your fabric handles,
Plus matching thread, scissors, and a sewing machine.
If you want any extra attachments like the swivel hook I used, you can pick those up in the purse accessories aisle of your fabric store. They also carry magnetic snaps, D-rings, and “frog” fasteners if you’d like to customize your bag further.
2. Prep Work
Cut two pieces of the fabric for the outside of your bag (Fabric A), 19″ x 19″
Cut two pieces of contrasting fabric for the inside lining of your bag (Fabric B), 19″ x 19″
Cut two pieces of stiff interfacing, 19″ x 19″
For the zipper pocket, I cut one piece of Fabric A, 9″ wide x 12″ tall, plus a piece of interfacing the same size.
For the divided pocket, I cut one piece of Fabric A, 11″ wide x 10″ tall, plus a piece of interfacing the same size.
For the outside pouch pocket, I cut two pieces of Fabric B, 12″ wide x 13″ tall, plus one piece of interfacing the same size.
For the fabric straps, I cut two pieces of Fabric B, 5″ wide x 24″ tall, plus two pieces of interfacing 1.5″ wide x 24″ tall and two pieces of thin cotton batting, 1.5″ wide x 24″ tall.
(Click on any photo to enlarge for better view)
3. Create your pockets
I started by creating the pockets I wanted so they’d be ready to attach to the bag.
First, the zipper pocket:
With the 9″ x 12″ piece of Fabric A and coordinating piece of interfacing lined up, cut across 2.5″ from the top, and sew those pieces back together with a loose stitch (1/2″ seam allowance). Press open the seam and place your zipper underneath. Sew the zipper in place. Remove loose stitches from the first seam. Now the two pieces of fabric with interfacing will be attached by a zipper. Trim interfacing to be 1/4″ shorter than Fabric A and fold Fabric A around the interfacing to create a finished edge and stitch. If zipper isn’t quite as wide as the pocket, you may want to add some zig-zag stitching at both ends of the zipper to close the gap.
- Stitch these two pieces of fabric together (with interfacing attached)
- Press open seam and trim interfacing
- Pin zipper in place and stitch
- Removing loose stitches from the first seam
- The two pieces of fabric are attached by the zipper
- Fold Fabric A around edges of interfacing and stitch for finished edge
- Close-up of zipper in place
- finished zipper pocket
Now, the divided pocket:
Use Fabric A piece that is 11″ wide x 10″ tall, plus its coordinating piece of interfacing. Lay interfacing on wrong side of Fabric A and trim 1/4 around the edges. Fold edges of Fabric A around interfacing and stitch for a finished edge. Mark with chalk the sewing line where you want to divide your pocket. (I chose to divide my pocket about 4.5″ from the left side, making one pocket the right size to hold a bottle of water, and the right-hand pocket a little larger).
- Trim interfacing to be 1/4″ smaller all the way around
- Fold Fabric A over interfacing and stitch for finished edge
- chalk line for pocket division
And now, the outer pocket (I use this for papers, maps, etc.)
Use two pieces of Fabric B that are 12″ wide x 13″ tall. Stitch together around all sides (1/4″ seam allowance), leaving an opening of about 9-10″ at the narrower end. Trim the corners, turn right side out and slide piece of coordinating interfacing (may need to trim this a bit) into the opening. Pin opening closed, and topstitch around the entire rectangle.
- Sew pieces of Fabric B around edges, leaving an opening at one end.
- Trim corners and also trim interfacing
- Turn Fabric B pieces right side out and insert piece of interfacing
- Topstitch around complete rectangle
4. Construct the bag
For this part of the instructions, assume each piece of Fabric A that is 19″ x 19″, will have a coordinating piece of interfacing behind it. You can baste them together if you prefer, but I did not.
Center the outside pocket on right side of one 19″ x 19″ piece of Fabric A. Place it no more than 2.5″ from the top edge. Pin in place and topstitch on sides and bottom. Reinforce corners as shown in illustration.
- Center outside pocket on bag
- Topstitch to Fabric A on sides and bottom of pocket
- Reinforce upper corners of pocket as shown
- This is what it will look like on the back side
Now, sew the two pieces of 19″ x 19″ Fabric A, with right sides together, down both sides and across the bottom (5/8″ seam allowance). Trim interfacing along seams. Mark with a pencil a 3″ square in both corners and cut out with scissors.
- Sew along sides and bottom edge of Fabric A pieces with right sides together
- Mark a 3″ square in each bottom corner
- Cut away the 3″ squares
This might be the trickiest part of the entire bag, and yet it is not hard at all.
Press open the seams of the two Fabric A pieces you have just sewn together. Open up that 3″ square notch and pin right sides together–the bottom seam with the side seam. It will create a boxy corner at the bottom of the bag. Stitch with a 5/8″ seam allowance. Repeat on the other corner. Be sure to sew twice across this section to reinforce it.
- Press open seams
- Match side seam to bottom seam and pin in place
- Repeat on the other corner
- This is creating the flat bottom of the bag
- the other corner, finished
- Now the bag will stand on its own
Turn the bag right-side out — now you can really see the bag coming to life!


Turn the Fabric A pieces right-side out
5. Construct the bag lining
Add the pockets first. Topstitch the zipper pocket to one piece of 19″ x 19″ Fabric B, centered and about 3.5″ from the top. Topstitch the divided pocket to the other piece of 19″ x 19″ Fabric B along the sides and bottom. Stitch along the chalk line you drew to divide the pocket into two sections. Reinforce (backstitch) at the top edges of the pocket, so it can’t tear loose from the lining of the bag.
- Topstitch zipper pocket to Fabric B piece
- Topstitch divided pocket to the other Fabric B piece
- Sew down the chalk line to divide the pocket in two.
Now you will assemble the lining. This part is easy. It’s almost exactly what we just did to create the outer bag, only there won’t be any interfacing to deal with. Just slap those two 19″ x 19″ pieces of Fabric B together, sew a 5/8″ seam allowance down the sides and bottom (BUT THIS TIME, leave an opening along the bottom of about 10″–you’ll need this later in order to turn the bag right side out), cut out 3″ squares in the corners again, and create the same boxy corners again by stitching the bottom seams to the side seams at the 3″ square notch. Do NOT turn the lining right-side out.
- Sew two pieces of Fabric B together (leave an opening of about 10″ along the bottom edge; this photo doesn’t show the opening)
- Mark the corners and cut
- Match bottom seam and side seams and create boxy corners
If you want to add a swivel hook to hold keys, like I did, take a piece of fabric 1.5″ wide. Fold it in half lengthwise and stitch close to the edge. Using a crochet hook, turn it inside out. Put the strip of fabric through the opening on the swivel hook and fold (cut to the length you want). Stitch to the bag lining along one of the seams at the height you desire and be sure to reinforce that stitching. I stitched it “upside down” so when the hook fell down over the stitching, it would hide it.
- right-side out strip of fabric
- Stitch along one edge and insert crochet hook to turn right-side out
- Pin along seam in bag lining
- Stitch in place and reinforce
- Finished hook
6. Attach the handles
If you’re going for super easy, just cut that 1 1/2-yard piece of 1″ webbing in half. Pin each handle in place about 4.5-5.5″ from each side of the outer bag piece (Fabric A). Line up the handles on both sides of the bag so they look uniform.
If you want to make your own fabric handles, take each 5″ x 24″ piece of fabric (I used Fabric B) and lay the strips of interfacing and batting down the middle. Finish one long side of each handle by turning under 1/4″ and stitching. Fold raw edge over facing/batting; then overlap finished edge over that and stitch down the middle of the handle from one end to the other. (Mine didn’t end up being right down the middle, so I ran another line of stitching, just to make it look better). Pin these handles to the right side of the outer bag (Fabric A) as in the photo. Baste into place. Put the outer bag inside the bag lining (Fabric B), being sure to keep handles tucked inside. Pin together. Stitch along the top side (5/8″ seam allowance) through all thickness of fabric, handles, interfacing, etc., all the way around. Trim interfacing close to stitching.
- layer strip of fabric, facing, batting
- finish one long edge of handle
- Overlap finished edge over raw edge and pin
- Stitch down center of handle
- two handles
- Pin to outer bag
- Baste handles to outer bag
- Put outer bag inside bag lining
- Be sure handles stay tucked inside
- Pin upper edges together
- Stitch with 5/8″ seam allowance around top of bag
- Trim interfacing close to stitch
Now your bag is almost completely finished!
7. Finishing touches
Through that opening in the bag lining you left, reach through and pull out the outer bag. Hand-stitch the opening shut with a blind-stitch. You could use a slip-stitch as well. It doesn’t really matter because you won’t see it inside your bag. Push the bag lining back into the outer bag. Now the zipper pocket and divided pocket will be inside the bag. Topstitch along the top edge of the bag to make it look nicer and lay better.
- Reach through opening and pull outer bag
- Continue pulling outer bag all the way through opening
- This is what the bag will look like at this point
- Hand-sew the opening in the bottom of the bag lining closed with a blind stitch.
- Blind-stitch the opening closed
- Top-stitch through all thicknesses at the top edge of bag to reinforce and make a nicer finish.
Now that you know how to make your own travel bag, you can show it off on your next trip…or use it for everyday shopping! The nice thing about this bag is that it’s lightweight, roomy, and difficult for anyone else to get to when it’s on your shoulder and tucked under your arm. If someone were to slash the bottom of the bag, you wouldn’t lose the valuables you’d stowed in the zipper pocket!
- side view of finished bag
- inside view of finished bag
- Roomy outer pocket
Want to know what I keep in my bag when I’m traveling? My passport and money goes in the zipper pocket. The divided pocket holds a comb, pencils/pens, and a water bottle. In the bottom of the bag, I might have a pair of flats and a lightweight sweater, plus a folding umbrella for rain. I’d probably have a few granola bars or other snacks, and my travel journal. In the outside pocket, I would stash postcards and stamps, maps or printed confirmations, and anything I wanted to grab in a hurry like a metro pass.
What do you carry with you when you’re traveling? What can you not be without?
If I left you wishing you could make more travel-related craft projects, you might want to check out these articles:
Ten Crafty Travel Projects and Ten More Crafty Travel Projects
How BEAUTIFUL! And…it’s made even better by all the cool pockets and clips, too! I always bring my camera around, so I’m looking to get a different camera bag that can hold a few other things, too.
This is great, I want to make one. This could also make a great diaper bag.
Very creative idea. I’m looking for a camera bag that’s more like a handbag so maybe I should just make my own. Thanks for the idea 🙂
I so wish I was a crafty as you. Really like the idea of creating my own bag. I’ve never found the “perfect” travel bag yet, so making my own would be the solution. Thanks for the idea 🙂
I have zero crafting skills so I am super envious of your ability to make a bag. Have you ever thought of selling these?
I hate to say it, but I always travel with my iPhone. I use it to keep up on the blog and figure out where I am with Google Maps!
So impressive! Not to mention how creative you are! I always have my money and a map, as well as some water and snacks, too. I also never travel without my camera. I second what Brianna said…why not sell these?
What a compliment! Then I could earn more money for travel!
This is genius! i love how deep it is! i am going to try and make one myself for all of the stuff me and the kids cart around with us! thanks for the great tutorial! (i hope mine turns out half as nice as yours …. those straight stitches and my lead pedal foot are not always friends!)
Use a dark color like I did and it will hide any uneven stitches! I’m sure your bag will turn out just fine!
I don’t think I could travel without my noise cancelling head phones. I know I’m spoiled, but they’re amazing and help you relax, no matter which way you choose to travel!
I’m with you on that one!
This is such an interesting arts and crafts project! I’m really into utilizing every crook and cranny of any bag of mine and I thoroughly enjoy a relatively substantial amount of pockets. It’s hard to find the perfect size too. A size good enough to fit all my to-go essentials such as my phone, my tablet and my stuff for hygiene! Thanks, Tami!
And that’s exactly why I made my own – to get enough pockets!
Wow this is really cool! And it looks super professional! Nice one!
Thank you Sophie!
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