tutorial: travel kit organzier

***Update:  these are now for sale in my shop here***

i noticed that some of the fabric i bought recently had a big red pen mark on it, and since i'm too lazy to return it i just decided to use it make another travel kit for myself.  and make an actual tutorial for you guys.  

supplies:

-main fabric

-contrasting fabric

-4" zipper

-interfacing (4" x 6")

-batting (10" x 6")

-3" strips of velcro (not pictured)

so the order of the rectangles for the inside/outside goes: (4" x 6") (4"x 6") (3" x 6) and you will need to cut one of each out of the main fabric and contrasting fabric.  the narrower rectangle will form the closing flap.  these are the pieces that are linen and blue/green patterned pieces pictured.  

the blue pieces are the pocket lining (6" x 7") and accessories pocket (4" x 6").  

install the zipper following the tutorial here: how to sew a pocket zipper.  after installing the zipper, bring the bottom edge of the pocket lining up and baste it to the top forming a pocket.  piece the rest of the pieces together like so:

 at this point, you can baste the batting to the outer piece of fabric (the one without the zipper).  i also added some topstitching where i joined the pieces.

next add the pocket for accessories.  you can customize the width of the pockets for whatever you want, but for mine i made the hair band pocket roughly 1.5", nail clippers 1", tweezers and bobby pins .75".

i don't have any pictures of the next step, but attach a piece of velcro to the other piece of fabric.  it should be roughly 1" from the edge of the larger square of main fabric or the side OPPOSITE of the flap.

then, right sides together, sew all around the edges leaving a small opening on the flap.  flip inside out and press.  topstitch all around the flap closing the opening, and attach the other piece of velcro.

and fill the pockets and voila!  a brand new travel kit!

personally when i travel i love having separate bags for everything (literally everything) so having this little organizer makes me happy.  i'm using it on my trip now and all the stuff that's in there i usually have just having floating around inside a larger bag, so it's def a lot easier to have them all organized in one place.  and the little zippered pocket actually holds a lot of stuff; i filled mine with band-aids, an extra pair of contacts, and floss.

how do you keep organized when you travel?  do you keep everything in one big bag or do you have a separate bag for everything?

linking up here

diy travel kit

one of my best friends is getting married in a couple of weeks yay!!  unfortunately that means flying...12+ hours of flying...and then some grungy hotel action:/  on the plus side travelings means adorable little pouches and organizers which are some of my fav things in the world.  so i decided to whip up a little travel kit for my trip.  it holds hair bands, bobby pins, nail clippers, tweezers, band-aids, and even a small tube of neo.  this was also the first time i made a pocket-y type zipper-not sure what the technical name is...  but it was actually pretty simple and i can already imagine plenty of times when it would be useful.  

i did some light quilting on the outside but only because that tree just had perfect placement...completely by accident of course.  i thought the outside was looking pretty plain so i used a freezer paper stencil for that little flowery burst thingy.  i wish i had decided to do that before i installed the magnetic snap because it made it impossible to place it lower.  it ended up being a little bit bigger than i would like but i'm still excited to use it!!

i hope everyone is having a good weekend so far!!