My Yoga Mat Bag

So my 25th birthday was on Thursday, and as I mentioned a couple posts ago, my fiancée sent me a yoga mat (for you know, whenever I plan to get off my lazy bum and actually do yoga). I finished the bag the day after I got the mat, and I'm so excited at how perfectly it came out. I'm still really new to sewing, so being able to finish something like this is great. The tutorial I followed at boredandcrafty.com was so straightforward and well written that it made making it so easy. The only problem I had was trying to figure out how big to measure out my fabric, because my mat is a oversized, thicker mat, and I wanted a little more wiggle room for it. I ended up measuring my mat, adding 3 inches to the length and circumference (and thanks for a online diameter calculator), then proceeding with the tutorial. So, in the end, it came out really great, and the fabric, I think really makes the bag stand out.

I also made the strap a few inches longer, because I worried how tight it was going to be on me, I didn't want to feel choked by the strap being too tight. The additional 3 inches ended up to be the perfect size to go around my chest. Yes, I love this bag.

I added another step to finish the bag: I tacked down the lining to the outside part by a little bit of hand sewing, I didn't want my lining to pop out from the bottom whenever I pull out the mat. If I ever take classes, that would be quite embarrassing for me. So, a couple stitches, and done. Easy peasy.