Dollar Dolly Duffel Bag! -- TUTORIAL

Today's Dollar Store Craft is a mini duffel bag for your dolly (or for yourself!). Your 18"doll can haul her dance clothes to the studio in style. Or, when she heads over to her friend's house for a sleepover, her pretty overnight bag will be the envy of all the other dolls!

All you need is one tote bag and a zipper. I had my zipper on hand, but you could purchase one at a crafts/sewing supply store. Or, if you are not opposed to a little seam ripping, check this out:


(photo courtesy of my "high-quality" cell phone camera!)
A dollar store backpack! That green zipper is exactly the right color -- and you can steal the black webbing straps as well. All for a buck!

(Note: For my duffel bag I used the body of one tote bag and the handles from anothe rbecause I wanted contrasting handles.)

STEP ONE: Cut apart your bag! I simply cut the sides away and removed the handles.

I ended up with a 24" x 13" rectangle, plus two strips of approximately 26" of straps.

STEP TWO: Cut out the pieces of your bag:
Cut a 7 1/2" x 10 1/2" rectangle for the main body. (On mine I was careful to center the motif.)
Cut two circles with 3 3/8" diameter. (Again, I centered the motif!)
Cut two strap pieces at 18" and one at 8".

STEP THREE: Fold your rectangle in half to find the center. Lay your handles as shown, with the raw ends of the handles about 1/4" from the center. I centered my straps carefully on the motif. Repeat for the other handle.

STEP FOUR: Sew your straps down. Don't sew them all the way up to the top edge! I stopped 2 1/2" from the top edge of the rectangle on either side.

STEP FIVE: Sew your 8" strap across the bottom center, covering the raw edges of your straps.

STEP NINE: Fold down the two short edges of your rectangles a scant 1/4". Crease with your finger.

STEP TEN: Attach your zipper to either side of your bag. My zipper was about 18" long, giving me plenty of extra space to get the job done without having to wrestle the bag and zipper.

STEP ELEVEN: Attach one circle to the first end of your duffel bag (not the one with the long zipper tail). If the motif on your circle is directional, be sure to get it right side up. The circle is actually quite easy to attach -- simply pull and rotate the circle around in front of the presser foot, matching the edges as you go.

Looking good so far!

STEP TWELVE: Sew the other circle on, starting a short distance away from the zipper and ending a short distance before you reach the other side of the zipper, as shown.

STEP THIRTEEN: Next, zip your zipper about 1/4" of the way across the body of your bag. You need to have plenty of room to turn your bag right side out through the zipper opening.

STEP FOURTEEN: Finish attaching your circle. I gave the zipper a little added stability by sewing a bar tack over the zipper teeth in the seam allowance.


STEP FIFTEEN: Cut off the excess zipper (don't use your good sewing scissors! I used my kitchen shears) and turn your back right side out. Done! Your doll is ready to pack up her duffel bag and head to her best friend's house for a sleepover!

Want ideas of what she can stuff in there?

Wendy at Old Days Old Ways (hi, Mom!) just made a super fun sleeping bag for her 18" doll -- she gives measurements here. And guess what -- after checking the dimensions of the rolled up sleeping bag we discovered it will fit EXACTLY in the duffel bag! Serendipity!!!

Wendy also has her famous Dollar Doll Clothes from Underwear tutorial to outfit your dolly with some new jammies and other goodies. She includes free patterns!

I also have a few ideas for how to make some super easy clothes for her.


Then again, if you don't want to share your duffel bag with your dolly, you can always use it for your markers! :o)