A Travel Bag, Hold Stuff Securely

A Travel Bag, Why?

Here’s why I made a travel bag;

We travel quite a bit, and love to sight-see.  There’s always “stuff” to carry;  maps, passports, money, umbrellas, rain poncho and a water bottle.  And, I’m not in the habit of carrying a purse.  I like my hands free to open doors and hold hand-rails while my “stuff” is secure.

On a recent trip to New York City,  I took a lovely waist-pack that my daughter gave me.  I packed the city and subway maps, my wallet, a notebook, my keys, my hotel key-card, subway pass, pens,  a small calculator, and an eyeglass repair kit.  It kept sliding down my hips so I slipped it over my neck and shoulder and wore it across my chest.  And, it felt secure there. 

BUT, every time I unzipped it to get at something, EVERYTHING in it tumbled out.  The zipper was just in the wrong place.  Or I had too much “stuff” in it!

I needed a travel bag, that I could wear across my chest, or around my waist, so I made this:

My travel bag has a small outer pocket to fit passports, and a larger outer pocket for the maps.  

The main zipper starts at one corner, up the side, around the top, and down the other side to the bottom.

Inside there are 2 more pockets, one secured with a zipper, the other with a snap.

As you can see, it’s been “cat-approved”.

I used a stiff nylon canvas that was hard to sew and odd coloured zippers from the thrift shop.  I’m going to make another one in cotton, make a few minor changes, and document my pattern.