Doodle Swim Bag

One of my nieces had a birthday earlier this week, and my sister suggested that she could use a bag like O's for swim club.  I was happy to oblige.  I've probably mentioned this before, but one of my favorite things about blogging is that it's so helpful for gift ideas for friends and family.  That and my project notes are in one permanent place instead of scribbled on scraps of paper that I subsequently throw away or lose.

My niece is still into peace signs, so I was excited when I found this fabric that looks like it's been doodled.  Isn't it perfect for a tween? I thought the black background would be good for the dirt and muck potential of a locker room floor too.

I made it almost the same way as I made O's, but I did make the changes to the drawstring casing that I mentioned wishing I'd done.  This time I cut the two outer pieces to 14x20" (2" longer") and the one PUL lining piece to the same 14x35".  I left openings in the side seams of the outer between 1 5/8" from the top and 3/4" further down.  When I sewed the lining and outer together, then turned and stitched in the ditch, it created a casing just of the outer cotton turned to the inside.

As I'd hoped, this cinched up much more tightly than O's did with the PUL in the casing.

PUL-lined zipper pocket

The drawstring straps are probably too long, but that's easy enough for my sister to customize for my niece.  She can just retie the strings a bit shorter and trim the ends.