How To: Make A Custom Beach Bag Organizer

I’m cheating a bit here and using a post from last summer…..hope you like it!
Beach time is super important here in a resort town.
My girlfriends and I send many emails back and forth trying to arrange the
perfect day for the beach.
This year it is Wednesday.
 It’s a standing time and day….all are welcome and each of us has taken turns
 bringing visiting friends and relatives to Beach Day. 
I’m fairskinned so I burn easily. 
I always have the umbrella which has become the point of reference 
when everyone is searching for the group.
Everyone brings their own cooler of snacks but we all share. 
Not having little ones has made it nice for the majority of us
 and the days of dragging buckets, shovels, tubes, etc is over.
 Now we have pre-teens and teens so the major focus is food and lots of it!
Of course my daughter now has a 3yr old so Mimi (that’s me)
 doesn’t get to just sit and chat anymore. 
Mimi is always being called to come and see something of  great importance
….sigh…..
he’s just so cute I can’t miss anything!
Beach bags and I do not get along. 

They are big black holes where things disappear.

 

 I waste too much valuable socializing time digging around in there looking for 
my sunglasses, 
my reading glasses, 
my chapstick, etc. 
My book pages get crunched up and filled with sand. 
Collected shells and stones get tossed in there scratching up my sunglasses.
 I carry a big insulated cup but it always tips over.
This year I decided to do a project that I planned to do last year but never got around to…..

A Custom Beach Bag Organizer

 

I started with a flannel backed plastic tablecloth.

I loved the colorful, cottagey print!

There are several steps but if you have basic sewing skills you can do it easily!

Measure the inside circumference of your bag and add an inch.

Measure the depth you want. I made mine the full depth of the bag.

 

Cut out two pieces of tablecloth the length of the circumference and twice the depth.
Mine was 42 ” long (circumference) by 20″ high (twice the depth).

Set one piece aside. Fold one piece in half lengthwise with the flannel sides together.

Now fold the long, doubled piece you have in half crosswise.

Put it inside the bag to check the fit. Trim the end if needed to make it fit nicely,
and sew the two ends together making a circle.

 

Take the second long piece, fold it lengthwise and then crosswise.
Mark the spot where it folds crosswise and then unfold it. 
Each half of this long piece is one pocket side of your insert.
Cut it in half crosswise where you marked it.

Sew around the three open sides of the small pieces.
I used a zigzag stitch.

Using the side seam of the large circular piece as a guide, attach each pocket piece to either side of the side seam. 

This is your starting point for making a set of pockets.

Once attached, flatten out the large piece with the two pocket pieces inside and mark where the opposite side of each pocket piece should attach. 
The pocket pieces are just a tiny bit larger but attach the sides anyway, the excess will be used up in a minute
Don’t attach the bottom edge of the pocket piece yet. Mark where you want pockets and sew from the top to the bottom at each mark you make. The bottoms will be open.
I made two large pockets on one side to hold books and magazines and four smaller pockets on the opposite side.
When you’ve sewn each pocket “sleeve” then sew the bottom closed….
if there is excess fabric, just make some small pleats….
it will just make your pockets more full at the bottom which allows things that are larger, like bottles, to fit better!

Here I’m putting it in the bag to check where the ties go … see the stitching for the pockets?

 

Add your ties which will go around the bag handles to hold the insert in place. Two ties for each handle so you can make a bow or knot.

This took about an hour…a nice Summer project!

I’m all ready for our first Beach Day…..
I know, it’s July already but we’ve all been busy!

I think it came out really cute……
don’t you?

Sharing with
Embracing Change
Beyond The Picket Fence
Boogieboard Cottage

Comments

  1. Brilliant. What a splendid idea!!!

  2. That’s so cute, and functional. I wish I had more time to sew.

  3. Im always loosing things in my beach bag. This is a wonderful idea. Thanks for posting.

    Have a safe and happy 4th

  4. Look at you, all organized and everything, Lorraine! : ) I can so sympathize with everything getting thrown in there, scratched sunglasses, books/magazines getting bent up and drinks falling over. I love that you used a vinyl tablecloth to make your insert. I think it will work great for you. I just bought one of those plastic totes {Christmas Tree Shop, I think} and use that for when we go to our condo’s pool. It’s the perfect size for my towel, lotion, bottle of water and a couple of other things. Haven’t brought a book or magazine yet because each time I’ve gone the daughter and granddaughter are with me. There’s no reading when grandchildren are around {and awake!}.

  5. I love this!! So pretty and stylish too.
    ((Hugs))
    Anne

  6. So cute. Love that tablecloth! Perfect for the beach.

  7. Great idea, Lorraine. I need to start sewing again. You come up with the best projects.

  8. I thought I commented on this last night from my ipad while sweating in bed. I see I did not. It’s cute, I’m hot.

    ~Bliss~

  9. Perfect solution for the black hole! Very smart to use the plastic tablecloth.
    Is there room for binoculars? You never know when a hot guy is going to stroll out of the surf.
    It’s best to be prepared.
    Tina recently posted…Painting Upholstery w/ASCP- My Little Chair and FriendsMy Profile

  10. That is very, very cute and I love that it is not only a great idea but I LOVE the summery colors of it, too! xo Diana
    Nana Diana recently posted…FIREKING FINDS , BELLEEK BEAUTIES, LOVELY LIMOGESMy Profile

  11. It’s still holding up well this year! It really is a cute idea…I looked in on Wednesday and almost said, “ohhh love the inside of your bag and then I remembered I’d seen it before!”

  12. I do think it came out really cute! Makes me wish I wasn’t so afraid of my sewing machine! Also makes me wish I lived near a beach!
    Danni@SiloHillFarm recently posted…PEACH GRANITAMy Profile

  13. This is really cute! I wish I had a sewing machine but then I’d have to learn how to sew! Great bag!!~~Angela
    Angela recently posted…Summer Porch!My Profile

  14. That’s brilliant I’m doing this, pinned!
    Mel recently posted…Balloon Balls.My Profile

  15. I think your insert is sooooooo cute but I think it would be even cuter if you had made a solid color outer bag to put your insert into. I just think the drab outer bag just takes away the cuteness of your insert but I LOVE THE INSERT AND I HAVE TO GIVE YOU 2 THUMBS UP AND 9.5 STARS (the solid color outer bag would have made my 9.5 stars go up to a 10+ stars).

    GREAT IDEA AND GREAT WELL DONE JOB. THANKS FOR THE IDEA AND INSTRUCTIONS. THIS WOULD ALSO MAKE A GREAT BABY BAG CARRY ALONG INSTEAD OF THE WHOLE BIG DIAPER BAG.

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