Sew a simple and essential travel garment bag

Step 1

If you travel frequently or go on business trips, this garment bag will help keep your suit or dress clean and looking its best. It also has handles for easy carrying.

Illustration 2

Step 3

To sew the garment bag, you will need:
• a piece of cotton fabric;
• a zipper (1 m, 22 cm);
• fusible interfacing;
• bias tape;
• sewing supplies.
The ideal finished size for the bag is 100/60 cm. Therefore, cut a piece of fabric measuring 100/120 cm. If desired, you can add a pocket to the bag. To do this, cut an additional piece of fabric measuring 19/26 cm.

Illustration 4

Step 5

Finish the raw ends of the short zipper. To do this, cut 2 small rectangles (approximately 5/2.5 cm), fold them in half, and pin them to the top and bottom of the zipper.

Illustration 6

Step 7

Sew on the reinforcing piece.

Illustration 8

Step 9

Cut a 4 cm-wide strip from the top of the pocket piece. Fold and press the resulting raw edges of the pocket. Sew the zipper to these edges.

Illustration 10

Step 11

Finish the outer raw edges of the pocket with bias tape. First sew one side, placing the pocket and tape right sides together, then wrap the tape around the edge and sew the other side.

Illustration 12

Illustration 13

Illustration 14

Step 15

To make the bag handles, cut two strips of fusible interfacing measuring 1.9/26 cm and four lengths of bias tape the same length as the interfacing. Fuse the interfacing to two strips of bias tape.

Illustration 16

Step 17

Cover the fused bias tape strips with the remaining strips and stitch along both sides.

Illustration 18

Step 19

Prepare the 1 m zipper in the same way as the pocket zipper and sew it into the main body of the bag. Sew the pocket onto the side opposite the zipper.

Illustration 20

Step 21

Sew the handles to the top and bottom edges of the bag, then stitch the two edges together.

Illustration 22

Step 23

Finish the raw edges with bias tape in the same way you finished the pocket edges.

Illustration 24

Illustration 25

Illustration 26

Step 27

The travel garment bag is ready!

Illustration 28