Portside Travel Set

 

I don’t know what I would have done on my trip to Barcelona if I didn’t have this Portside Travel Set, what a lifesaver!  Packing for a three week trip isn’t easy, but let me tell you, this duffle bag fit everything but the kitchen sink.

 

 

I used the set as one of my two permitted carryons (the other being my backpack with work stuff in it), and here’s everything I packed in it: a full change of clothes, my trench coat, scarf, umbrella, a knitting project, two pairs of sneakers, a full dopp kit and cord pouch, slipper socks, sleep mask, toothbrush and toothpaste, and my pair of glasses.  I know I’m missing some other things that were in there, but there was still room to spare!

 

 

The dopp kit was especially handy, I fit my gummy vitamins, allergy meds, melatonin, ibuprofen, and some tea bags easily inside.  The cord pouch is the perfect size for holding all of the charger cords for my iPad, Kindle, and phone.  The pouch was a cinch to make, but the dopp kit was a little fiddly with the curved edges and there were a couple of colorful words used as I tried to get everything to sew neatly through my machine.

 

 

My fabric is from the home dec section of Ikea!  I toyed with the idea of using some Cotton + Steel/Rifle collab canvas from last year’s fabric collection, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend that much money on a bag that was going to get a lot of wear and tear (and dirt) as I toted it around on my travels.  Plus, the hardware and notions alone were a bit of an investment.

I opted to forgo the fusible interfacing, since I never have much luck with fusible interfacing when I make bags, and chose instead to use duck cloth as a sew-in interfacing (well, I spray basted it instead of sewing it, lol).  I like how duck cloth pairs with canvas, like with my clutches I made last year, and it provided enough body without the duffle bag being too stiff or “crunchy,” which happens sometimes with Pellon fusible interfacing.

 

 

Nothing like a bright lining inside a bag!  Makes it easier to see things and find what you’re looking for.

 

 

My only complaint about this bag is that because it’s so big, and fits so much, it gets really heavy!  Which is really a problem that I caused with my packing, hahaha.  It was tough to wear this on one shoulder with my backpack and it kept sliding off, plus the weight didn’t help, so the best way to wear this was cross-body style with my backpack.  Especially when I had to hoof it and run through the Madrid airport to get to my gate in time!  I could see this being a great bag for a weekend trip via a car ride, but I’ll need to remember to be mindful of what I pack in this when I fly next time.

 

Pattern: Portside Travel Set by Grainline Studio
Fabric: Body, panels, and lining from Ikea
Hardware:
Buckles – Bagmaker Supply
Swivel Hooks – Bagmaker Supply
Webbing – AGraff Supplies
Zippers – Zipperstop