Yoga Mat Cover

A finish!  A week and a half ago a new yoga mat came into our household.  The following day, it needed a cover.  I would say I swung into action at that point, but that's not quite how it happened.  I might have looked through my stash to see if I had a large enough chunk of a heavier fabric... 

But I definitely didn't start work until last Sunday.

Finished: yoga mat cover

 Very proud of the fact that I didn't have to buy anything to complete this.  I had the yellow canvas, the rainbow stripe cotton, the zipper, grosgrain ribbon and interfacing (both used for extra strap support) and the drawstring all within my amazing all-powerful STASH.  Big win in the Fabriholic column there.

 I relied heavily on YouTube videos to help me conceive of this.  The "How to make a Yoga Mat Bag" video was super-helpful, and really well-done for a single-camera how-to.  This video showed a bag with a pocket, but did not give directions for the pocket.

 For the pocket, I wanted both a zipper portion and an open portion.  Fortunately, another video helped me out: DIY 5 Minute Zipper Bag (EASY).  I made the zipper bag, assembling it so the zipper was near one end of the bag, rather than in the middle.  Then I  just attached that zippered piece to the bag as one would attach a patch pocket.  Presto!  Both types of pocket in one.

 One change I made from the video was to have a circular base for my bag.  I simply traced around a plate that approximated the size of the rolled-up mat, and gathered the tube of the bag to fit around it (no math needed).  I made sure to double stitch that seam, as I'm sure it will receive more stress from the weight of the yoga mat.

Sweetie loves her new yoga mat carrier.  She is not a big fan of yellow, but since this fabric was from my STASH, I made sure to include lots of RAINBOWS so the bag would be distinctive and fun.

Fabric used: 1 yard yellow canvas, scraps of rainbow cotton