The Carlson Zoo: She's Crafty!

So. Mimi took the Mighties Saturday night, with a promise to bring them home late Sunday afternoon. Delirious with the infinite possibilities that a child-free night/day offered, I racked my brains for what to do........Work? No, too obvious. Clean the house? No, too responsible, besides: have you met me? Craftiness? Ah, now you're talking my language! But which to choose? Make picture frames? Knitting? Dig up that baby blanket kit? Or maybe the towel bag thing I had been wanting to try......

In the end I settled for an evening of mindless TV-watching and knitting (thanks to an NCIS marathon and a project I need to finish by the end of July). After a very restful night's sleep, I started in on the towel bag project. Essentially it consists of attaching a smaller towel to a beach towel in such a way that when turned inside out, it forms a bag in which the towel and other sundries can be carried. I thought it would be a fun way to trick the kids into carrying their crap to the beach/pool. Am I not the best mom ever?

I found the initial instructions online here, and made a few modifications. Namely, I used 2 hand towels instead of one because I wanted the carrying straps to be longer. Also by using a folded hand towel for the pocket, as opposed to half of a hand towel the final product has the bonus of another pocket. I am really happy with how they turned out! I've included the instructions below in case anyone is interested in making one:

Materials:
1 beach towel
2 hand towels

Step 1:
Make the bag: Fold 1 hand towel in half, right-sides together, and pin to the WRONG side of one of the narrow sides of the beach towel, centering it. Sew along the right side, bottom, and left side of the hand towel, leaving the top open.

Step 2:
Make the handles: Take the other hand towel and over about 1.5-2" of the long edge (again, right sides together). Do this on the other side as well. Sew both seams, cut away excess fabric (in the middle), and turn straps right-side-out.

Step 3:
Attach handles to bag: Pin one strap to one side of the hand-towel bag about 1/5" in from the seam, being sure to pin the RIGHT side of the handle to the WRONG side of the bag. Attach the other half of the strap to the other side, again about 1/5" in from the seam. Do the same with the other handle on the other side of the hand-towel bag (DO NOT attach the handle to the beach towel!). Sew.

Step 4:
Fold the towel: Lay the towel out, RIGHT SIDE up, and fold the long way in towards the center. Starting from the bottom, fold the towel up in lengths approximately equal to the length of the hand towel bag. Once you have folded it all the way to the top, grab the bottom corners and invert the bag.