Simplicity 2600 Duffel Bags!

Simplicity 2600 Duffel Bags.  I made four of these bad boys for my two sons and two son-in-laws.  There is not really a description listed on the envelope so I am creating my own.  These are some decent sized bags.  The outside you quilt using fabrics of your choice.  You need some contrasting fabric for the inside of the bag and the underside of the handles.  Piping is also needed to attach the sides.  The finished bag measures about 13" X 20" X 11".  My son just packed his clothing for a three-day trip we are taking and he has a little room to spare. 

 Included in this pattern is a tote bag, jewelry caddy, make up case, passport cover and luggage I.D tag.  I had high hopes of also creating the jewelry caddy for my two daughters and soon to be daughter-in-law, but life just got in the way of sewing.  Maybe next year. 

The bag includes an inside pocket, outside pocket and outside side pocket.  For the first bag, I used an extremely heavy duty zipper and found it not as flexible as I'd like it to be so for the other three bags I purchased purse zippers all made of nylon, each with a double zipper thing-y. 
Also for the first bag, I made my own bias tape and took the time to quilt the handles.  After I completed this step of quilting handle fabric on the diagonal and then proceed to cut the six inch wide handle into three long strips of about two inches deep, I decided I was a fool and proceeded to not repeat that step again without rethinking the process.  On subsequent bags, I used denim as the layer in the handle, skipped the quilting by machine and am just as happy with the result.  I also purchased bias tape to edge the handles. 

I chose fabric I thought each guy would like and so far they all think these are pretty cool.  This is a great pattern, it only has 16 steps for the bag, although a few of the steps are time consuming--especially the quilting steps.  You can also opt to use bias tape on the bottom seam of the bag.  I did that on the first bag and then decided that on the remainder I was going to stitch the seam and then top stitch the seam edges down to reinforce them.  That seam was a little easier to handle without the bias trim. 

This is a great pattern.  A beginner could tackle this pattern with great results. 
One thing I had a little trouble with was the insertion of the side panel.  In order to get a great looking side, I decided to stay-stitch the entire edge and clip prior to stitching so it fit together and molded itself together.  I had less headaches and had to do less un-sewing afterwards.  I highly recommend this step for anyone tackling this bag.