As you may have noticed, if you’ve been following the adventures of our haberdashery 😊, I just got back from a trip... Not just any trip, since my sweetheart and I went hunting for treasures in Japan! You’ll have to be patient to see them, but there will be wonderful surprises in the coming months!

Anyway, back to today’s topic... my vacation! And of course, vacation means luggage! So this year, after sewing the toiletry bag, we got busy sewing a super practical travel bag to easily continue the journey!

Just like the bag which was a success, I used the new patterns from Ikatee: the "Voyage" luggage set which brings together in the same printed pattern: travel bags in different sizes and a toiletry bag.

So, here we go for my creative adventure with a quilted travel bag!

On the way to Aizu-Wakamatsu with the Ikatee Voyage bag

The model: the Ikatee Voyage bag

As I mentioned earlier, I chose the Ikatee travel bag model from the travel set. I picked the largest bag model so it would serve me during this trip but also so I could reuse it as a weekend bag 😊. Its size seemed appropriate to hold both my partner’s and my belongings for a few days abroad.

The printed pattern is available in-store or online via our webshop. The different models offered in the printed pattern are classified as intermediate sewing level.

My supplies

I wanted to repeat the quilting (like for my travel bag). However, I needed heavier and sturdier fabrics this time because the bag must withstand wear, tension, and so on over time. So I opted for a mix of indigo blue denim and floral canvas because I wanted nice patterns for my bag.

For those interested in these two materials, I wrote two blog posts on the subject 😊.

For the quilting, I wanted to make life easier for us, so we repeated the experience that worked very well for the bag using H630 fusible interfacing on our outer pieces before quilting them. It’s just perfect to give the quilted effect without being too thick and... it sticks, so it doesn’t shift when quilting, which is really nice!

For quilting, we chose a seafoam green thread that matches the soft colors of the flowers on the canvas.

For the zipper pulls, we chose a zipper by the meter on which we placed two sliders facing each other so it can open both ways. Finally, the webbing is a 30mm webbing from the shop, and we chose silver Italian hardware (rings, clasps...) that matched well with the bag’s dominant colors.

We allowed ourselves to add a copper lurex piping inside the bag to highlight the pockets.
We added a small personalized Ikatee label for the finishing touch!

All the materials used for this bag come from the shop.

Technical points

To make this quilted bag, there are some interesting technical points:

- installing the zipper
- installing the zipper tape
- applying fusible interfacing (in our case with a pressing cloth)
- quilting
- creating an inner divided pocket
- installing piping
- installing the lining
- attaching the webbings
- attaching the hardware
- attaching the personalized label

My sewing experience

This bag is aimed at an intermediate sewing level, and I agree given the technical points it includes. We allowed ourselves to add a few more for our personalized version 😊.

We chose to quilt the outside of the bag (denim and floral canvas) with vertical lines spaced 1.5cm apart. We used a denim needle size 90 for this step. This allowed relatively tight quilting lines, which I much prefer. This was really the step that took us the most time because there are quite a few pieces to quilt. However, it’s worth gathering your courage (and patience) with both hands.

If you want to add a personalized label like we did, don’t forget to sew it before assembling the bag lining; it looks nicer without visible seams.

The assembly itself is quite simple if you follow the instructions in the booklet included in the printed pattern. With some care, anyone can do it, and there’s even a video for those who prefer that.

One challenge might be attaching the webbings and the hardware because of the thickness! We recommend reinforcing these seams with a "cross stitch" to give more strength to the attachment, which will be under tension.

I don’t regret choosing a zipper by the meter on which we placed two sliders for opening the bag. In use, it’s really convenient to be able to open the bag with these two sliders.

Here is our lovely bag that accompanied us on our Japanese journey! I’m really happy with the result because, to my eyes, this bag is truly successful!

I think I’ll make other smaller versions, for example a sports bag that’s easy and practical to carry. It will also be perfect as a dance bag, for going to work... in short, I see many uses for this very practical model.

And you, what do you think?

Want to make your own beautiful bag too?

Then don’t hesitate and get your needles ready!