Here is a great bag to take to the beach or pool. It wipes easily since it is made out of oilcloth and is big enough to fit a few towels and all the other goodies you may want to take to the beach! It has proven to be a great bag and will last for many summers to come!

Materials:

  • 1 yard 47″ wide oilcloth
  • 3.5 yards 1–1.5″ wide strapping material
  • 4.5 feet extra-wide double-fold bias tape
  • Double-sided tape

Preparing Your Material:

Fold, crease, and cut oilcloth in half along the width. When you are done, you should have two pieces, each measuring 23.5″ x 36″. Fold one piece in half along the long (36″) side, crease, and even up the edges. You want to make them even so that when finished you have a nice rectangle (23.5″ x 18″) when folded.

Sewing on the Bias Tape Trim:

Attach the bias tape to the two short (23.5″) edges. I like to pin the bias tape on to the edge. It makes for a less frustrating sewing job!

The Handle:

Trim the ends of the strapping material so that they are straight. You will want to put something on the ends that will stop them from fraying. You can use a product called Fraycheck or simply use clear fingernail polish. I like to burn the edges. Be very careful! This particular material burns very easily! Once completely finished with preparing the edges of the straps, join the ends to make one continuous handle loop, using a zigzag stitch on your sewing machine. Make sure the handle doesn’t get twisted during the process. Once the edges are joined, lay the loop flat with the sewn end positioned exactly at one end (can be either the top or bottom end). Fold the strapping in half and mark the position of the sewn end on the exact opposite end of the flattened loop with a pin.

Attaching the Handle to the Oilcloth:

Lay the rectangle (your cut oilcloth) right side up on your work surface and make a mark 8″ in from each side (sides measure 36″ when unfolded), at the center of the crease, as well as the top and bottom (make 6 marks in all). Use the double-sided tape to position the handle on the bag. I found the easiest way to do this was to just attach it to the strapping. Don’t worry about it showing later, it will be sewn over once the strap is sewn on.

The outer edge of the handle should match up to the marks on the center fold, top and bottom. The sewn edges of the handle, as well as the pinned edge should both be placed directly on the center fold. All that contorting to place a pin on the handle will ensure both the bag handles are the same size. Once in place, secure with pins.

Sew handle to the right side of the bag, using a back stitch at the beginning and end to make sure the handles are nice and sturdy. Stitch as close to the edge of each side of the handle as possible (sew four seams in all).

Sewing the Bag:

Putting right sides together, fold oilcloth rectangle in half along the center crease (crease should be at bottom of bag). Secure side seams with pins and stitch together using a 5/8″ seam allowance, making sure to back stitch at both ends.

Making Corners in the Bag:

This last step will ensure that your bag will sit nicely when placed on a flat surface, plus it makes for a more professional looking job.

Draw a line on the wrong side of the bag connecting a point 4″ above the bottom crease on the side seam and another 4″ in from the side seam (Please note that you are measuring from the side seam not the side edge). Repeat for the other side seam and for both side seams on the other side of the bag (drawing 4 lines in all).

With the wrong side of the bag still facing out, open up the bag and flatten out the bottom so that the bottom crease is in the center of the bag bottom and the drawn lines match up on both sides of the bag. Pin to secure the position and then sew along each set of lines (sew 2 seams in all).

Trim off corners to a 1/2″ allowance. Turn the bag right side out and you’re done!