This simple wash bag pattern is easy to sew and makes a very practical gift. It’s quite roomy and can hold plenty of toiletries, make-up or any bits and pieces. Depending on the fabric choice it would make a suitable gift for a woman or man.
St Kilda Mums is a wonderful non-profit that helps rehome new and pre-loved baby goods and nursery equipment to families in need. I’ve donated baby goods to them in the past and have great admiration for the work they do.
With Mother’s Day coming up, they have put a call out for Toiletry Gift Packs to distribute to mothers that need some support. It was the perfect excuse to get sewing with a purpose, so I’ve made some Zippered and Lined Wash Bags that can be filled with toiletries and given as Mother’s Day Gifts.
I’ve included the make up bag pattern and instructions so you can make one too. It can be for yourself, your mum, a friend or to send to St Kilda Mums.
See the bottom of this post for more information about St Kilda Mums’ One Mother to Another initiative.
You will need:
- Sturdy fabric for outer (I’ve used upholstery weight fabric from Ikea)
- Waterproof fabric or coated cotton for lining (I’ve used a plastic coated table cloth)
- Zipper (longer than 40cm/16″)
- twill tape or ribbon, 20cm length
- Sewing machine with zipper foot
- Cutting mat, quilting ruler and rotary cutter
- General sewing supplies
How to make a Zippered Wash Bag:
Cutting:
- Cut 2 x rectangles from outer fabric 30x40cm (14″x16″)
- Cut 2 x rectangles from lining fabric 30x40cm (14″x16″)
- Cut 2 x 10cm lengths of twill tape (4″)
Inserting zipper:
1. With outer fabric right side facing up, lay zip (right side down) along longest side of fabric rectangle. Lay lining right side facing down over top, lining up edges. Make sure zip is centered and ends hang out equally on each side. Pin if desired.
2. Keep zip closed. With a zipper foot, sew seam along edge that you’ve just assembled. Use width of your zipper foot to keep seam allowance consistent.
3. Flip both fabric pieces back so the wrong sides of fabric are facing. Finger press to make seams sit flat.
4. Repeat for other side of zipper. With outer fabric right side facing up, lay zip assembly (right side down) along longest side of fabric rectangle. Lay lining right side facing down over top, lining up edges. Sew zip in as before. Tip: Right sides of outer should be touching, and right sides of lining should be touching.
5. Open flat and finger press seams. Test zip to make sure it doesn’t catch on fabric.
6. Switch to regular sewing foot. Top stitch along sided of zip.
Construction:
7. Fold in half at zip with lining on the outside. Sew a seam on opposite edge to zip (1cm seam allowance). Make sure you catch all layers.
8. Overlock or zigzag over raw edges (Do this on all seams from now on)
9. Flatten out with zip on top lined up with central bottom seam. UNZIP zipper to halfway down.
10. Fold twill tape pieces in half to form a loop. Pin with loop facing in to ends of zip, aligning cut edges to edge of fabric. Do this on each side, taking extra care on open side of zip to ensure edges sit together.
11. Sew open sides closed as shown. Back stitch over zipper to reinforce.
12. Trim zipper excess and zig zag raw edges. Notice double stitching over zipper.
Boxed Corners:
13. Puff up bag and pinch corners in to form boxed corners. Mark seam line with a pencil and ruler. I’ve used the 45 deg angle on ruler as a guide, 10cm across. Mark all corners
14. Pin and sew along marked lines.
15. Trim excess fabric and zig zag raw edges.
16. Turn inside out. All done!
This bag is a generous size and easily fits full sized products. (Or even a pair of shoes).
I’ve made ten bags from one tablecloth and supplies from my stash. I’ve raided my bathroom cabinet and have done a little shopping, along with donations from some of the mums at school and a helpful reader, I’m hoping to fill them with toiletries to donate to St Kilda Mums and their One Mother to Another initiative.
If you would like to let another mother know you are thinking of her on Mother’s Day – here’s how.
She might be living in a refuge; her house might have burnt down, she might be homeless. She needs your help!
It couldn’t be easier to give another mother a beautiful gift this mother’s day, Just follow these five simple steps…
- Make up a gift bag of women’s toiletries – choose a nice toiletry bag (or make one) and fill it with everything you can think of if you had nothing.
- Include a note for another mother to let her know that you care
- Take a photo of your gift pack and post it on facebook, twitter or instagram using the hashtag #onemothertoanother
- Pack in a small bag or box and please include your name and address so that we can send you a thank you note.
- Post to St Kilda Mums 14 Winterton Road, Clayton VIC 3168 – I’ll be dropping mine off as I live locally.
St Kilda Mums will distribute your gorgeous gift to a mum in need.
Here are some ideas for items to pack in your gift bag:
Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, hairbrush, hair ties, comb, shampoo, conditioner, soap, tampons/pads, sunscreen, body and face moisturiser, cotton buds, cleanser, eye makeup remover, nail clippers, nail file, tweezers, body wash, tissues, cleanser, razor & shaving cream, hand cream, lip balm, deodorant, face wipes, body wash, sunscreen, paw paw cream, band aids or a basic first aid kit. You might have samples or small toiletries from hotels or airlines that you can include.
Don’t worry if you can’t fill your toiletry bag, I’m sure that they will appreciate empty bags that they can fill with other donated items to make up a complete gift pack.
If you can’t sew how about crocheting up some cotton wash cloths?
Visit the St Kilda Mums website for more information.
If you don’t live in Australia and still want to help another mum in a tough situation, get in touch with your local women’s crisis center to see if they would appreciate some toiletry packs too.
Get together with your friends and make up some packs together.
If you can’t make a gift pack, leave a message in the comments and I will happily print it out on a pretty note to include in one of my packs.
xx Cinti
That’s the most wonderful idea! I love the fact that it’s handmade. I did something similar at Christmas time for kids overseas – it was a shoebox (a big one – A4 – from Officeworks) filled with the same kind of stuff. It ended up costing a small fortune but it was worth it! It was even blessed by the gorgeous ladies at the local church! Bless your little cotton socks … I have a feeling the local church (where we do singing and dancing) might do something like that here for Mothers Day, and if they don’t, I’ll suggest it.
Yes postage can get quite expensive, I’m lucky that I live close to their headquarters so I can take everything in in person.
Very nice project. I have lots of hotel toiletries that I put in small cosmetic bsgs for a women’s shelter. I like this bag and will definitely make a few for my project. Thanks for the instructions.
This is such a beautiful idea.
I recognise the fabric, love it! I have a cushion & did have a peg bag made from the same.
You are very generous to make so many bags to be filled & to share your pattern & the idea to inspire others.
It wouldn’t be practical for me to post a pack from where I live to Australia, but I will investigate if there is somewhere near me who could accept similar packs for women/mums who are in need of some help/care/love.
Thanks Gail, I’m sure that the cost of postage could be spent more practically helping someone locally. If you’d like to leave a message I can include it in one of my packages.
I love this fabric, it’s so cheerful.
what a lovely project and a lovely idea!
This is much nicer than the socks we usually use for this type of project in San Francisco! And thanks so much for showing reassuringly that it comes out just fine even if one’s ends aren’t perfectly even…..
You are such a good egg Cinti! I’ve made hundreds of zipper bags, but never using this way, I’ll have to try it.
Amazing!! You’re a beautiful woman. Thanks for the pattern and inspiration – We dropped off 13 bags of toiletries to St Kilda Mums this morning. Now I have this pattern I can start making some for next year. 🙂
Great to hear! I’ll be taking ours in this Thursday.
Thanks so much for the tip about using the tablecloths for the lining. I’ve been wanting to make some of these for a while but was unsure of appropriate lining that wasn’t expensive. I’ve now made four and more on the way.
Yes waterproof fabric can be expensive, glad I could help.
What a great idea I find nylon shower curtains are good as linings too. I use them to line boot bags for school sport wear too.
Hi, I was wondering what dimensions these bags finish as? Lovely idea.
I don’t have any to measure, but from my calculations its about 30cm long, 20cm wide and 10cm tall – very approximate.
This was brilliant, thank you! I made it a touch smaller using 35 x 25 cm pieces and it worked out great.
Happy to hear it.
This is one could be a makeup bag for mom. Add to my mother’s day gift idea.
I would love to make this bag. Thank you for the pattern. Is there a printable copy that I can save?
Not at the moment, but i can put it on my list to update this post with a print button. In the meantime, am happy for you to cut and past the instructions into a word document for your personal use.
Thanks so much for this pattern! I made one out vegan leather, leather, and nylon, in very contrasting colors. It turned out great. Thanks for sharing.