For traveling with my kids this summer, I wanted to make sure they didn’t forget all the household responsibilities they are used to at home. For this reason, I created a personalised laundry bag for each boy to have on the trip. Dirty clothes go in and it also makes it easier to keep the socks with us. Here’s the very simple process.
Materials
- 1 pillowcase
- 1 iron-on patch (iron needed too) to personalize
- 1 length of ribbon for the drawstring
- Small piece of ribbon for the hanging loop
- Sewing supplies: scissors, needle, thread (by hand or machine)
Process
The very first thing I did before even starting to sew was to iron on the personalised patch. I would later sew the patch on as well.
Each boy’s initial is on the bag. It was the most cost effective approach. When I was young, my mom appliquéd one with my name (only four letters) and I still use it. I’ll admit, this was not intended to be the same caliber of quality.
The next step was cutting four tiny slits in the open edge of the pillow case, one on each side of the two side seams.
Then wound the ribbon through. It went out between each pair of slits for drawstring functionality. There are drawstring threader tools that are worth buying if you’re a frequent crafter or own a lot of hoodies. I couldn’t find mine (which I bought in 2010), so I improvised by taping the ribbon to a bamboo skewer (like for cooking kebabs). It worked well.
Once wound through, I knotted the two ends at one of the slit gaps.
After that, I attached the loop to the back centre for hanging. Hanging by the drawstring would keep the bag closed the heavier it became.
I saved all the sewing until the end so I could affix the loop and secure the iron-on patch quickly in one session at the sewing machine. It went quickly bulking the tasks like that (thanks, Henry Ford).
Result
The result is basic and simple, but functional. I don’t expect these to last as long as the one my mom made me, but they should keep going for quite a while (and I can mend or update them as the kids grow).
As mentioned, these will serve a purpose while traveling, but it would also be nice as they grow older and learn to do their own laundry to have these to make the process easier (no hunting for laundry baskets!).
At what age did you or your children start doing laundry or being involved in the process? I think I was about 10 or 11. But I started cooking at age seven.