MAKING A DOPP KIT (AKA make-up/toiletries bag)

I was looking for a pattern and tutorial for a dopp kit*, and I found a very good one on YouTube.

This is the end result.

The zip pull cost more than all the other materials put together!

I wanted an interesting lining that was masculine enough, and washable. This fern pattern polyester fit the bill.

The lining fabric is not waterproof, but it's washable.

I selected this particular tutorial and pattern because it has a separate lining, the kind that you "drop in" and attach with hand stitching. Easier patterns have an attached lining, which means you end up with visible seams inside. Not crazy about that!

Besides, I happen to love sewing by hand, so I welcomed the opportunity to practice my invisible stitches.

Hand stitching is a very contemplative process.

The pattern didn't call for the embroidered strips on either side of the zipper - or any embroidery for that matter. That was my own artistic touch.

Can you tell that the little zigzags are actually tiny ferns?

NOTE: The extra zip is going to be cut away.

The name of the site where I found the tutorial is kevinsews.com; Kevin's medium is strictly the video. 

To quote him:

Here you’ll find sewing related videos and tutorials created by me or others. This is because I am not a writer. Therefore, I capture videos of my interest in sewing.

Nothing wrong with that!

In fact, the "sew-along" series that goes with this single pattern consists of 15 videos - yes, 15!

The pattern came as a separate download. I had trouble printing it and Kevin kindly added a multi-page version so my printer would accept it. 

I've only been making bags for a few months, but with each one I make I advance my skills and my familiarity with instructions, fabrics, interfacings, etc. It's hard to believe that before I made this bag I had great difficulty sewing a straight seam!

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* The name derives from early 20th Century leather craftsman Charles Doppelt, who invented his toiletry case in 1919. The kits became widely known during the Second World War when they were issued to GIs.