How to Make a Double Compartment Shoe Bag

A shoe bag can keep your shoes away from the rest of your clothes when traveling.

A shoe bag is useful because it protects your shoes and keeps them separate from other items in your luggage. You can use two shoe bags, one for each shoe, or consider a double compartment shoe bag to keep the pair together and yet separate in one bag. Making a double compartment shoe bag only requires that you make two large shoe pockets within one shoe bag.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric
• Drawstring or ribbon
• Ruler
• Sewing machine
• Scissors
• Iron

Instructions

1. Measure and cut your fabric to 2-by-4 feet. It will be twice as long as a single shoe bag. Going forward this will be referred to as the shoe bag itself.

2. Cut two more pieces of fabric 2-by-2 feet each. These will be the inside compartments of your shoe bag. Moving forward, these will be known as fabric "B" and "C."

3. Clean all edges by folding over a half inch of fabric on all four sides around the fabric pieces. Iron these folds down with a hot iron and straight stitch in place.

4. Make the casing to the top of your shoe bag. Lay shoe bag flat and fold one of the longer sides towards the wrong side of the fabric 1-inch from the edge. Iron flat and stitch in place. This is now the casing for the top of your shoe bag.

5. Fold your piece of fabric in half length-wise from top to bottom (with wrong sides facing) and make a crease with a hot iron. Open the shoe bag again exposing the crease. You now have two clear sides to the inside of your shoe bag (left and right).

6. Fold one edge of fabric piece "B” 1-inch toward the wrong side and stitch in place with a straight stitch. You've just created the top of piece "B." Repeat for fabric piece "C." This step is similar to making a casing; however, you won't place a drawstring through these pieces like you will for the top of the shoe bag.

7. Align the bottom of fabric piece "B" (wrong sides facing each other) with the bottom of the left side of the shoe bag and pin in place. Do the same for fabric piece "C" placing it on the right side. Now you should have your shoe bag with the wrong sides facing up (with a crease distinguishing a left and right side) with piece "B" on the left side and C" on the right side.

8. Stitch fabric pieces "B" and "C" in place and iron with a hot iron.

9. Fold shoe bag in half again ( this time with right sides together) aligning the edges from top to bottom and pin in place before stitching the side and bottom closed with a straight stitch 1/2 inch from the edge. Make sure to begin your stitch at the bottom of the casing to avoid closing the hole where you will insert your drawstring.

10. Thread a piece drawstring or ribbon through the casing until it comes out the other end. Cut both pieces the drawstring about 12 inches and tie a knot and then a bow.

Tips & Warnings

• You can sew these shoe bags by hand if you don't have a sewing machine.

References

• You Tube: Make a Shoe Bag
• Betz White: Stitch Beautifully Tread Lightly: Shoe Bag Tutorial; Betz White, 2009