I made this bag as a Christmas present for my Dad. He wanted a 9" x 6" bag to store miniature toiletries when travelling. I chose this cotton backed PVC fabric as it seemed quite masculine and fitted in with the travel theme. I lined it with a waterproof fabric which I already had in my stash (PUL - polyurethane laminate). It has a flat base, so it stands up by itself and has a zip closure. I wanted it to have a rectangular shape once completed which meant making the bottom edge wider than the top edge to allow for the extra depth at the base.
I made the zip tabs differently this time. Usually I make them so that they join up with the side seam, but I've noticed that commercially made bags have a shorter zip and a slight gap between the side seam and where the zip starts to avoid the bulk you can get in the corners. I didn't know how much shorter to make the zip so I guessed at ½" shorter than the width of the bag and covered each end of it with very narrow zip tabs, as shown in the photo.
Then I sewed up the side seams, ensuring that I didn't sew into the tabs. I really like the result. Not only is it easier to make, but it also looks better. If I was doing it again, I would probably make the zip even shorter to keep the top corners more square.
I wasn't sure how deep to make the bag, so I waited until I had sewn all the edge seams before sewing across the corners to create the flat base. It was harder to do, but enabled me to put off the decision until I had a better idea of what the bag looked like.
I was very happy with the end result. More importantly, so was my Dad.
