The duffel bag is the prime outdoor companion. Its compartments can carry food, clothes and equipment through different terrains. Its small pockets hold water canteens and other small items necessary for that thrilling mountain climb or for your favorite sports. As you can see, the duffel bag provides a ready advantage for active people. You should make one to see for yourself how easy it is to carry traveling and sports equipment.
Bag manufacturers have noticed the duffel bag advantage and have released quite a number of stylish and durable duffel bags. Unfortunately, those items are pretty expensive as some duffel bags cost over a hundred dollars, which is far from being affordable. You can actually have your own duffel bag for less than a quarter of the price if you make your own duffel bag. The raw materials of duffel bags are cheap and can be found in most textile stores and shopping malls. Of course, a self-made duffel bag requires hard work but in the long run, you’ll have a lot of convenience for all your sporting and traveling needs.
A duffel bag can be a bit challenging to create, but if you have the right equipment for the job, you may have your bag in a few hours. With a sewing machine ready, you can make hemlines in a matter of a few minutes en route to sewing together all the sections of your duffel bag. You can also use a comprehensive sewing kit to make the job even easier.
Materials Used:
denim – 2 yards
nylon strap – 3 yards
long zipper
4 short zippers
flexible plastic
sewing machine
sewing thread
sewing needle
scissors
marker
paper
tape measure
strap clips
Gather the Materials and Equipment
You can get a good denim sheet if you visit a popular textile store. Of course, you can use other fabrics for your bag, but denim’s combination of stylishness and durability seems perfect. No wonder denim is currently the most popular material for duffel bags. As for the other materials, you can get them from a sewing store. If you do not have a sewing machine at home, you can borrow one from your neighbors or your friends.
One more thing, be sure to use thick needles for your sewing machine. Thin sewing needles can bend or even break if they constantly bore through a tough material like denim.
Design Your Duffel Bag
Think of a good design for your duffel bag. You can check magazines about the great outdoors or the Internet for hundreds of design ideas. When you have settled on a design, sketch it on a piece of paper together with the dimensions for every section. Sketch two exterior pockets so that your bag will have extra storage areas for smaller items.
Create the Different Sections of Your Bag
Draw the outline of all the sections of your bag on the denim sheet. Make sure that the measurement of each bag section should be identical to the dimensions that you set earlier. After you sketch the outline, grab a pair of scissors and cut out all the sections of your bag. You should get:
a couple of side sheets
two bottom sheets
four end sheets
two sheets for the side pockets.
Create the Sides
Get the two side sheets and cut them according to the design that you set for your duffel bag. Once you have two sets of denim strips, sew them together in accordance with your design. You can reinforce the stitches by making additional hemlines on the various sections of the sides. When the sides of your duffel bag have been formed, get the two side pocket sheets and manipulate them to your desired shape of your bag’s pockets. Sew the sheets to the bag’s sides with your sewing machine.
Affix the Zippers
Now that both sides of your duffel bag have been formed, you can affix the main zipper and the side pocket zippers. Get two small zippers and sew them to the outer edges of each pocket. Hold the zippers straight while sewing to keep them from getting misaligned. Once done, sew the long zipper to the outer edge of each side.
Create the Ends
Group the four sheets into two pairs, and then sew the pairs together. Leave the top portions of the pairs open for the zippers. Get the two remaining zippers and assign one for each pair. Once done, sew the zippers to the outer edges of the paired sheets. You can now sew both duffel bag ends to the sides.
Construct the Bag Bottom
The bottom should be the sturdiest part of the duffel bag, since it will carry most your travel items. You will have to use a sturdy material to back-up the toughness of denim. In the case of your duffel bag, a sheet of hard and flexible plastic should do the trick.
Get the two bottom sheets and the sheet of hardened plastic. Sandwich the plastic in-between the two sheets then sew the sheets together. Once done, affix the bottom sheets to your duffel bag with your sewing machine. Place one or two more hemlines near the ends of the sheets to further strengthen the connection.
Connect the Strap to the Bag
Get the nylon strap and cut it in half, then wrap each half around the bag. Once done, sew the straps to the sides of your bag. Check if the straps can hold the bag steady then add stitches if the straps need to be reinforced further. When the straps are set, make two small incisions on the top portions of the bag’s opposite sides. Insert a strap clip on each side of the bag. Now, you can purchase a shoulder strap if you want your duffel bag shoulder-carried.
The duffel bag is ready at this point. You can now enjoy the great outdoors with your tireless traveling companion.