DIY the new generation duffel bag

My chestnuts,

These photos have been ready for a while, but I haven't had a nano-second to myself since I got back from Paris. I'm getting there, slowly but surely, I don't like to rush things either, so I'll take my time, if you don't mind... As I said a few days ago: I wanted to surprise you a little more, so you'll get a little bonus tomorrow to round off this themed week (fortnight...)!

I saw my kitten Fred again, your Fred national It's been millennia since we last saw each other on Monday, to tell each other what's going on in our respective heads... Apart from the fact that we agreed that what was going on on top of mine was "boring" and needed to be refreshed. I'm very happy to have seen him, and to have been able to confide in him my desires for renewal on my site, an editorial line, which will slowly move to make crazy and great people interact, all that what...( pressure ) Try to post every day, always the classic articles but also little things, inspirations, making of, smiles... Just to feed you hungry bunch! I can't wait to unveil the new design, I can't wait until June, you have no idea. ok, I'll stop! 

So today, a little DIY, for your darlings, for your brother or for Father's Day, which is just around the corner... A bit of testosterone with this revisited duffel bag... I give you a big kiss! 

To make this DIY, you'll need..:

• - the bag partron to download HERE,
• - a disc of fusible webbing the same diameter as the base of your bag,
• - 1m50 of 2cm wide straps,
• - 2 rings, 1 snap hook (although 2 is better), a buckle for sliding the strap, 
• - pins, fabric scissors and fine felt.
• - and with hindsight, a press and pliers to put it on... ( you'll see)

To begin, cut out the various parts of the pattern from the fabric, so far so good... Take 40 cm of webbing, fold it in half and pass a loop through the middle fig.2. Stitch this strap in the middle of your large fabric strip, right sides together fig.3. With right sides together, stitch the second strip of fabric that will form the bottom of the bag, fig.4, so as to sandwich the famous strap. Machine-stitch together, making several passes over the strap, fig.5. As usual, you'll "open" your seams with an iron, fig.6. Then, on the right side, you'll stitch the seam 0.5cm from the edge of the two fabrics, and those on both sides fig.7, this step is optional but I think it finishes the bag off nicely, so if any seamstresses are in the audience and can refresh my memory as to the name of this seam, that would be great, thanks in advance! Next, work on the small front pocket. Use the iron to make simple hems around the pocket, and for the flap, you'll need to stitch the sides first, before sliding everything onto the right side fig.8.

Then pin the pouch to the bag, right in the middle, so that the strap sandwiched at the bottom of the bag runs through the middle of the pouch fig.2. Then machine stitch your little pocket fig.2. In hindsight, having crash-tested the bag, I'd advise you to put a snap right next to the buckle at the top of the strap, as this will also be a safer way of closing the pocket. I won't explain how to fit a snap with the right tools, it's very simple. But put the female part on the strap (the forward and the return) then the male part just below, in the middle, above the pocket on the bag. I'll tell you about it now because it's easier for me, I did it at the end and clearly I should have done it then... Then we'll continue, it's very simple you'll close this bag, folding the whole in half and stitching all along the two fabrics, to form a tube. Once again, make 2 stitches and finish the whole with a little zigzag stitch to finish off fig.3. Then take the fusible webbing circle and the fabric circle and, using a hot iron, join the two parts together. If you've chosen a thick fabric, this step is optional, but I wanted the bag to hold together. Pin the iron-on disc to the base of your bag. If you've followed my instructions for the width of your fabric strips, there should be no problem matching them, fig.4. Take 10cm of the strap, fold it in half and pass the second loop through the inside fig.5. At the seam that forms the bag's tube, slide the strap over and pin it in place. Once again, this double strap will be sandwiched between the bag body and the base fig.6. Machine-stitch the whole thing, insisting on the strap's passage. Sew all around the base fig.7, before turning the bag inside out and ironing fig.8. 

And to finish off your bag, that's the final touch, the strap over the shoulder... It's rather complicated for me to explain it in clear words, but follow the pictures and everything will be fine - I try anyway, I'm not defeated! Pass the rest of the strap through the adjustment buckle, then through a carabiner fig.1. Then, with the end just passed through the carabiner, pass it back through the adjustment loop in the opposite direction (EXACTLY as shown in the picture...). Spread the length of the strap over the entire height of the bag and hook the carabiner into the buckle at the bottom of the bag fig.3. Then, 25 cm from the edge, on the same line, form a return as shown in fig.4, and stitch the two ends of the bag, several times - this is important, as this is where it pulls the most, once the bag is full! To close the bag, roll up the opening until you see the carabiner, which you'll hook onto the strap just above the pocket, and TA-DA! 

As an added bonus, you can use a fine white textile felt-tip pen to write a little note "OH MON BATEAU" "SAILOR MOON"... that's a nice little touch! And of course, I think you'll have noticed that these are Pauline Darley's photos... Thanks again for all your kind words!