So we were headed to the lake with the youth from church, and of course we could not find a bag that was big enough to fit everything that we needed to bring. May I just say that our beach towels are those nice oversized ones, great for lounging on the beach, not so great for trying to fit in any normal sized bag. After doing several tries in other bags that we had around the house I decided to check my scrap fabric pile to see if I could find any peice possibly big enough for a new beach bag...and I did YEAH!
So I took the whole scrap piece of fabric and folded in it half so that it would be a bit thicker so it could stand the weight of everything. I then looked for some other scrap pieces so I could make some pockets on the inside (I love pockets and lots of them, I don't like when things just float all over the place). So I cut out some scraps and sewed all the edges so they looked nice, and pinned them into place. I unfolded the big piece so you wouldn't be able to see the pocket stitchings from the outside and placed my pockets onto the fabric. With the small polka dot fabric I also sewed vertically right down the middle and it is the perfect size for a wallet and a cell phone so they don't get lost in the mess of everything else. On my tall skinny pocket I actually sewed the bottem and two sides together and then just sewed the top seam under so that is was open still. This turned out to be a great idea because then when I attached it to the bag I know had 2 long pockets perfect for sunscreen, hair brush, hand sanitizer, lotion, and a small bottle of aloe. The last pocket I made was the big pocket. I made this pocket specifically for the bathing suits so we didn't have to dig through the huge towels to have to find them. It worked out perfectly. I then folded the fabric in half again, so it was the size that I wanted it.
I cut out some fabric to make some straps for the bag. To make the straps I just cut the fabric about 3.5in in width and the whole length of the fabric. Once it was cut out I put the right sides together and sewed up the side. I did not bother to sew up either end as they would be inside the bag seems so you would never know they were not finished. I then turned them so they were right side out and ironed them so they would stay flat. (the picture was taken before the ironing)
SO before I added the straps to the bag I turned the fabric so the insides were facing out and I sewed up both of the side edges. Note: I did not need to sew the bottom of the bag since I just folded it in half, it made for a nice short cut. I then pinned, along the top of the bag, where I wanted my straps. I folded about 1/4 in of the fabric in so that I had nice straight edges and sewed in up all around the outside (be careful that you are sewing one side up at a time or you will sew the bag shut, which won't do you much good). After that I turned it right side out and look a great beach bag and it took me about 1.5 hrs to make, this included all the ironing and the hunting of the fabric.
My finished bag worked amazing. It held three swim suits (one pint sized on), snacks, two oversized towels, one baby towel, sunscreen, and personal items. Not too bad for a last minute project and it held up super well with all the weight. Very proud of it and I'm sure it will have many more uses as I am always in need of a good sized bag to haul things around in.
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