DIY Yoga Mat Bag

So I have this yoga mat. But it's been super unhappy. Because it didn't have a home.  It would just get unceremoniously shoved into my tote bag that never quite really fit it.  I know you can buy those yoga mat straps for like $20 or a pretty bag for $30, but I'm not sure I do yoga enough to actually warrant paying for it.  What I did have though, it this $2 fabric I found from IKEA's as is section!  And on top of that, making this required less than 1/4 of the fabric itself, which makes it come out to less than 50 cents.  An unbeatable price, I think ;)

First, I laid the fabric out flat.  I rolled my yoga mat around it and marked the spot.  It ended up being to long on top, but that means it's perfect for the handle!  Note that the handle needs to be a bit longer than the yoga bag itself.  I also cut a circle for the base, adding two inches to the edges to give myself room for the hems.

 First, I tackled the handle because we can't sew up the yoga bag until we have the handle anyways.  I folded it in half, sewed it up, and then turned it inside out (using a pen or a chopstick can be very useful).  Then, with the handle pinned on top of the approximate spot on the bag, I sewed up the long edge of the bag.  The next part was tricky- the circular bottom.  Most of the trickiness comes from making sure that you're scrunching the right amount and making sure everything lines up.  My solution? Go veryyyy slowly.  Lastly, I wanted something to secure the yoga bag in the mat.  Nobody likes a yoga mat that falls out of it's bag.  I found this elastic silver tie I had leftover from a gift and decided to use that.  Then I basically sewed the top edge over the silver string.  I realized in the end that my handle was a bit long, but I just ended up tying it into a knot because I was too lazy. Overall, the project took me an hour and half, so not too bad.  And my yoga mat now has a comfy new home!  Hauling it around is so much easier now.