estimated reading time: 3 min

Sewing a toiletry bag for men: Here's how it's done!

02.09.2018 by Sabine Schmidt

Waschtasche für Männer nähen: So wird's gemacht!

What do I need for that?

Materials & Details

Fabric scissors^*

Machine:: Overlock seamBackstitch functionStraight stitch
Interfacing:: Vlieseline H630

More info

Needle:: Universal needle^*

Woven cotton is a classic, non-stretch cotton fabric. It's comfortable to wear, relatively lightweight and at the same time nicely stable.

The surface is usually smooth or slightly matte and feels natural and soft. Depending on the quality, it can be thinner for light clothing or a little firmer for sturdier projects.

Woven cotton is really easy to sew: it hardly slips, is easy to cut and is great for beginners too.

It's perfect for blouses, shirts, dresses, skirts or for decor such as cushions, pouches and patchwork.

In short: simple, versatile and a true all-rounder for lots of sewing ideas

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Sewing a wash bag for men – that's a plan I've had in mind for a long time. It should be simple. And practical. And maybe even without a pattern? I'll show you how it's done!

Sewing a wash bag for men

I find it's really not that easy to sew a nice toiletry bag for men. Most cosmetic bags look rather feminine. Of course, there are exceptions, like my freebies Malva toiletry bag and Towe cosmetic bag with a nice partition! Both are also really beginner-friendly, by the way! :)

For this tutorial, I used my Boxy Bag tutorial as a template. And I modified it a bit by setting the corners lower.

The finished bag is 14 cm high, 10 cm deep, and 7 cm wide.

Materials you need

Outer fabric - for men, I think airmail motifs^* are very nice.
"Moskau" bag fabric^* or reinforced cotton fabric
Vlieseline H250 fusible interfacing^*
Zipper made of metallic-look plastic^*
Patchwork ruler^*
Rotary cutter^*
Pins^* – I actually only use the practical pins with grips now. They are really sturdy and of medium length. Plus, they stay sharp for a long time.
Sewing machine/overlocker

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Sew a men's toiletry bag

Step

A simple A3 sheet of paper serves as the pattern.
Step

Using this sheet as a template, cut 1 pattern piece each from cotton fabric and pocketing fabric.
Pin both pattern pieces wrong sides together, edges aligned.
Then sew all the way around the edges with your overlock.
Step

This is how it should look now:
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Thread a zipper pull onto a continuous zipper that is slightly longer than the long side of the pattern piece.
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Place the zipper right sides together on the outer fabric and sew it to the short side of the bag piece using the zipper foot.
Repeat this step for the other side.
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When sewing, I make sure to keep the zipper closed at the ends.
I sew over the zipper ends level with the fabric edge so they won't come open later.
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Fold the seam allowance together with the zipper to the inside and topstitch both in place with a straight stitch.
Repeat this step for the other side.
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Now mark the centre of the open sides of the bag with notches.
Place the zipper coil exactly on the centre mark and pin everything securely.
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Then sew both open sides closed with a straight stitch.
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Snip the ends of the seams diagonally so that they can be opened afterwards.
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Open the seams at all four corners, centre them and pin them in place.
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Cut off the corners 5 cm measured from the tip.
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For the loop, reinforce a 7 x 12 cm piece of fabric with Vlieseline H250.
Fold it in twice towards the centre and press.
Step

Edgestitch the loop along both sides with a straight stitch.
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Place the loop between the corners on the inside of the bag.
The loop sits centred on the seam.
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Close the corners with your overlock or sewing machine. Make sure the seam allowances of the crosswise seams are caught in open.
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Turn the bag right side out and shape the corners well.
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Step

The overlock neatly finishes the visible inside seams of the bag.
It looks especially attractive if you sew with different thread colours.
Prefer hidden seam allowances?
Simply bind the seam allowances with colourful bias binding!
Step

Happy simple sewing,
your Sabine
Step

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About the author

Sabine

I come from Siegen-Wittgenstein, where I spent my childhood breaking in cows, jumping off haystacks and scraping a D- in needlework class.

Today, being creative feels like indescribable happiness to me – and it grows even more when I can share it with others. Since 2016 I have been celebrating my passion for sewing on this blog, and I love that sewing connects so many people.