Monday Morning Inspiration/Duffle Bags

When it comes to making a duffle bag, the sky is the limit! You can choose to have something demur, or over the top creative. If you think that making a duffle bag is in your future, think a little about some of the things you might have that will work as fabric. An old quilt that has seen better days and yet has large areas of untattered fabric, a hand woven rug, even placemats! Below, you'll see a bag that was made from a burlap bag used for transporting coffee.

The bag below could very well be made from a wool blanket. 

It's your bag, so why not go all out and make it jungle crazy!

I came across this bag in a Sundance catalog. It's actually a carpet bag, but I love the fabric combination.

Here's the burlap bag. Might be a little itchy against the skin, but interesting nonetheless.

 A little quilted inspiration.

Now for some add-on ideas.

Create an extra compartment around the bottom. 

Do you like to keep up with your yoga routine when you travel? This bag has an extension with a belt that holds the yoga mat. Also take note that the side pocket has a zipper and there's an elasticized pocket on the end for a water bottle. 

An even easier application for carrying a yoga mat would be to incorporate it into the carrying straps.

The Grainline Portside duffle bag has a pocket on either side of the bag. It might be fun to add a zipper to one side and a flap to the other. 

When thinking about color combinations, don't forget the zipper, it can also be an accent.

Really make your bag your own by adding a monogram.

Don't forget the lining. It's fun to look inside a bag and see something a little unexpected.

For those of us who might over pack...just a bit ;), how about adding removable wheels? You can find the tutorial HERE.  

I actually once rolled the wheels off of a suitcase!!! It's a long story, but my car was parked in a different area of the airport, one which I thought wasn't that far away. I asked the taxi driver how much it would cost to take me to my car. He said $4.00. I thought to myself, that's $6.00 by the time I give him a tip...just to go around the block. So off I went walking. It was a LOT further than I thought. The $4.00 would have been a bargain. By the time I got to my car, I had rolled off one of the wheels of my suitcase. When I arrived home and my husband saw what had happened, he couldn't believe it. "Why didn't you just pay the $4.00?!!!" I explained that in my mind it wasn't that long of a walk until I actually started walking. He fixed the wheel and guess what, it cost $4.00 to fix it!!! And I learned a lesson :)
Have a wonderful day!
Rhonda