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Yoga Mat Bag - How to make a yoga mat bag: 10 tips on materials

Author: Sundeep Sitara

If you have some sewing skills, can operate a sewing machine and have a bit of creativity, then making your own yoga mat bag can make financial sense. There's also the added bonus of seeing your own yoga mat bag design in use.

However, before you rush off to buy materials for your yoga mat bag, here are some words of guidance. I have been designing and making yoga mat bags for a couple of years and I have learnt a fair bit about materials, what works and what doesn't, and problems that you encounter along the way to finishing your first yoga mat bag.

Here are my 10 tips on materials for making a yoga mat bag like the ones pictured to the right.

1. When you do things yourself, you can choose the materials you want for your yoga mat bag. My firm advice is to opt for quality materials. You are saving money on labour (your time is free) but do not cut corners on materials or you will regret it. Run a quality check on all the materials that you will use for your yoga mat bag. If the fastenings and buckles on the shoulder strap are cheap, they'll most likely break. If the thread is cheap, it will wear at important stress points e.g. where the shoulder strap joins the bag.

2. Keep the design of your yoga mat bag simple. Dangly bits, beads and tassels hanging off may seem like a good idea but they will catch on things, pull and rip. It's best to avoid them.

3. Materials you will need to make a 'tubular design' yoga mat bag similar to the one in the picture:

a) Strong, colour-fast, shrink-proof, breathable fabric
b) fastenings/ buckles/D clips (allows for adjustment of the shoulder strap)
c) strong webbing (for fixing the handle)
d) metal rivets (for the draw string to go through)
e) eyelets (allow the bag to breath)
f)  draw string
g) good quality thread
h) lining (optional)

4. One point that you really need to take on board is that the material for your yoga mat bag needs above all to be hardwearing. There are so many beautiful fabrics that you could use, and they would make stunning show yoga mat bags, but in everyday use delicate fabrics will catch, wear, tear and fray as you carry your yoga mat around. In little time your yoga mat bag will look tatty, which will be a poor reward for your efforts. On the other hand, consider your sewing machine when you buy fabric. Industrial material wears very well but it is often thick and is too much for a normal sewing machine to handle. I have broken so many needles on fabric which is just too heavy for my machine.

5. When buying fabric, remember to buy enough fabric to allow for seams, the handle, shoulder strap and pockets. Buy more fabric than you need, just in case you make some mistakes during the construction of your yoga mat bag.

6. You can at your option use a lining for the yoga mat bag. If you do, make sure it satisfies the criteria at 3 a) and that the fabric surface is slippery/provides little friction against the yoga mat, since you want to be able to get the mat in and out of the bag quickly and easily.

7. Avoid light fabric colours which will mark easily when left around dusty yoga practice studios.

8. If you are going to be doing a lot of travelling with your yoga mat bag exposed to the elements, then choose a waterproof or water resistant fabric otherwise your yoga mat bag will act as a sponge in the rain, and it will end up smelly.

9. Yoga mats can over time get a bit smelly so use a fabric that breaths. You can't go wrong with cotton.

10. Incorporating eyelets into the design will allow moisture to escape and help prevent your bag becoming smelly.

  Yoga Mat Bag - How to Make Your Own 'Tubular Design' Yoga Mat Bag