Tuesday's Tute: How to Make a Water Bottle Bag

We love our new water bottle bags! We used them this weekend at the amusement park and had many moms ask where we found such a thing.... The children were delighted to say we made them. We also love our new embroidery machine, but that has nothing to do with the tutorial. lol
These water bottle bags were inspired by a recent episode of DIY Dish. The girls at DIY Dish made little bags out of wash cloths with a closure to hold things, like a little purse. But, we needed something to hold water bottles. I was simply tired of carrying water for everyone, besides it's heavy. With these bags the children can carry their own and have fun doing it. We used wash cloths because the thick fabric provides some insulation and helps with condensation. Also wash cloths have a bit of body to them which gives the bag some built-in support. Quilting fabrics sandwiched with batting would also work, but require more construction time.
The children had a blast choosing their own wash cloth and embellishments. These are so easy, you're going to wonder why you hadn't made one long ago.

Materials (for 1 bag):
1 wash cloth (our's measure 13 " x 13")
Grossgrain ribbon for handle: we used about 25" for a 5 yr. old and 6 yr. old. Our handles cross the body so that the bag is secure enough to ride along on amusement park rides.
Embellishments.....

Step 1:
Embellish: Use your imagination and make sure you place your embellishments on the right side of the wash cloth. We used ricrac and our embroidery machine.



Step 2: Fold the wash cloth in half with right sides together. Sew down one long side and one short side (red lines). I used a longer stitch since the wash cloth I used was a thicker type.


Step 3: Attach the handle. Place one end of the ribbon against the fold (on the wrong side) peeking from the back of the bag in the picture and stitch down. Make sure the ribbon isn't twisted and stitch down the other end along the stitching line. Go back and forth over this stitch line a few times to make sure it's well secured.

That's it....have fun. Please share your water bottle creations in our flickr group.
Happy Sewing!
Debbie