Hello boys and girls! It’s time to show you the super secret Christmas sewing project that was the most time consuming. Here’s a little hint:
Any guesses?
Ok, I’ll tell you. All the ladies in the ThimbleannaLand family are planning a little yoga vacation this summer so I thought it would be fun if we all had matching yoga mat bags. Altogether, I made 6 bags and it took me several full weekends to complete them.
I think the girls really liked them. CuteNiece2 (who is becoming a certified yoga instructor and will be our own personal instructor on our trip) told me this was her favorite gift, so that was pretty exciting!
I couldn’t find a yoga mat bag pattern that I liked, so I just sort of made one up by looking at commercially available yoga mat bags. Each bag has one long zipper for the mat compartment in the middle and a smaller zipper on one side that opens into a pocket for wallet, keys, etc. There is also an outside mesh pocket for a water bottle or towel or whatever. Here’s a shot of what each side of the bags looks like:
If you look closely, you can see that I personalized each person’s bag with their name. The top bag in the picture above just happens to be mine! ;-D There’s a big long shoulder strap that runs from the top of the bag to the bottom of the bag. It’s sewn down on the bottom of the bag, but on the top it’s left open so that it could be used as a carrying handle if someone wanted to carry their bag in an upright position but not on their shoulder. There are also grommets in the bottom to provide ventilation for the mats. Here’s a shot of the top and bottom of the bags:
You can see that I used Sweetwater’s Make Life print on the ends of the bag. I also used it for the bag linings. It’s one of my very favorite prints ever and I’ve been hoarding a lot of it for a long time. I think the little sayings in the print are perfect for a yoga bag. Like the pencil rolls, I used the Robert Kaufman Essex Linen in Sand for most of the outside of the bags and then chose some scrap fabrics to match the Make Life fabric.
The machine embroidery is a design from embroidery library. We had a lot of peace signs this Christmas ;-D. (They also have a cute Peace. Love. Knit. design that I think would be fun on a knitting bag.)
And just to prove that I really did make six of them, here they are all stacked together. This was really a fun project to sew!
So, that’s the big project and the medium project posted. ;-D There’s still one other little project that I’ll save for next time. I hope you’re having a good week!
XOXO,
Anna
Ooooh, P.S. I forgot to tell you that I got my shipment of Linen Mochi Dots by MoMo from Moda. I LOVE this fabric and if it had been available before Christmas, these yoga bags would have had a very different look! You can find them HERE, in my little etsy store.
You make The Best STuff! Lucky 6.
TOTSOME!!!! (Totally awesome!) that was a lot to get done for the holidays. The girls must have just loved them. I can’t wait for your trip reports. Wonder where you could be going?
You overachiever. Wow. Ventilation & everything. So fun! I bet they loved them!
You are one talented woman Anna. Love these. I also love that you give gifts that are so personal. I think that webbing would have destroyed my machine. Did you do it on your regular sewing machine? You are amazing.
So cute and so clever! I’m sure all the “girls” love them. The bags look so much nicer than any I’ve seen! Quite a project !
What fabulous bags – maybe I should take up yoga so that you could make one for me??!!
The bags are fabulous, Anna. Making 6 of them? A-ma-zing! :o)
You are so clever Anna! I bet the girls were delighted – what a lot of work! Xx
What a clever girl you are!! Fabulous bags – hope you have The Best Time on your yoga camp!!
Very nice! You could make ones for the guys for fishing poles?
Wow are these terrific! I’ll bet the girls loved them. What a big secret project! A yoga getaway sounds really fun, or relaxing, or centering, or however you should think of yoga.
Anna they are fantastic. What wonderful gifts. Your family are very lucky to have such a creative wonderful person in their lives who makes such fantastic items!
As always, your sewing skills make me envious! I love these! :) Nice work! :)
Anna, you have such a talent! Those are wonderful. I could never figure things out without a pattern.
As someone who has traveled here and there with a yoga mat, I think this is fantastic. I, too, had to make my own bag for my needs and am seriously thinking about making another one after this post!
Lucky girls! Those are far nicer than the yoga bag I made for myself!
Wow! You could seriously sell that pattern! Great job!!!
I love those bags! I can see why they took so much time to make but totally worth it! Where the heck did you find those loooong zippers? internet probably. ;p
They are AMAZING … WOW! I’d be super impressed to get a bag like that. You clever, thoughtful thing you! 6?….again WOW!!
I still wish you were my aunt!
You’re killing me here!! So nice and they came out great!! I know a couple of folks who need these…
Oh my goodness, those are sooooo cute, as are the pencil rolls in the previous post.
Oh Anna those are absolutely amazing! What wonderful gifts!
Anna, you are so talented, this reminds me of the backpack you had when we met in Iceland, I couldn’t believe it was handmade. You’ve thought of everything!! I love Sweetwater’s designs and I use Embrodery Library alot. First I always bought the Husqvarna embroidery packs, but they are soooo expensive. I didn’t realise you could buy single designs online LOL :)
So has your yoga started? Didn’t they cry when they opened your present? (If not, you should have pinch them until they did LOL)!
You get an A++ for your sewing talents and creative mind! The yoga bags are adorable and I want to make one of the pencil holders for my granddaughter. They are beautiful!
You’re just trying to make the rest of us look bad as usual, Anna… . They’re lovely! And I recognise that Sweetwater print – you gave me some and I put it in my Christmas quilt. I feel part of the quilting community all of a sudden! (A tiny part, right at the bottom.)
Geeze Louise. Here you go again. Okay, so since the Mochi Dots are in, MY yoga bag will have a much different look.
Thank you.
Your loving niece.
Brigita.
P.S. I’m not overly fond of yellow (or purple. unless it’s butter yellow. or on a lemon. )
I LOVE your yoga mat bags! What an incredibly nice and fun gift! I wish I was CuteNiece3! And the dotted lined…drool. Is there any chance you made a pattern for the yoga mat bag..?
Oh that is great. that would make a great Label for a new brand.
Those bags are pretty cool! Love how Zen and calm this look ended up being…
It’s always such fun to visit your blog. I love the anticipation of what will be shared. Your Yoga mat holders are so beautifully made. Love the embroidery touches on your creations! A yoga retreat sounds like fun! My oldest daughter went to one in Costa Rica. They also learned to surf. Hugs to you! ~Joni
Those are lovely!! You did a wonderful job and with them being named everyone will know who’s is who’s!
Good Golly Ms. Molly those are awesome. You never cease to amaze me with what you create. I can imagine that these were quite a hit with the ladies. Way to rock it Ms. Anna.
Hugs – Mrs. Farmhouse
You have not forgotten the smallest detail! I think a pattern should be forthcoming.
Frankly, I have never been much interested in machine embroidery but this application really adds to the whole bag design. What kind of machine do you use for these ~ a sewing machine with special apps or a machine just for embroidery? Totally clueless on this subject!
Wow, these bags are perfect!!! Well done Anna!
Love the machine embroidery too.
Have lots of fun on your yoga retreat!
I wish I did Yoga (or any form of exercise for that matter) those mats are fab! Lucky gals. That was a lot of work Anna Lou!!!!! xo
Those are fantastic! I’m sure the recipients were thrilled!