a striped yoga bag

I've been a little out of pocket these days, but I just wanted to post this yoga bag that I made for my sister.  I used the measurements and instructions from the One Yard Wonders book put together by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins.  This particular project was submitted by Gene Pittman.

My sister picked out the fabric.  It was a good experience going to the fabric store with her because I got to learn more about her taste.  I would never have picked out this color combination for her, so I'm glad she chose her own.  I really like the fabric; I just didn't think that she would.

Hopefully my sister finds the pocket useful. I followed the instructions for the pocket, but I'm not sure how practical it will be. I'm all for extra storage, but I thought the pocket should be more robust to hold bulky keys or something. But I didn't want to take the extra time to figure that part out (it was late).

I didn't follow the instructions for the bag handle from the book.  The project in the book uses a strap attached near the top opening.  I wanted a strap on the side so it could be easily carried over the shoulder.  I used webbing for the strap which saved me a lot of time (as opposed to using the bag fabric for the strap).

Oh, and since this is my review of the project, I would like to point out two things:

1. One of the items needed is 22 inches of elastic.  For the life of me, I can't figure out why you would need that much elastic for the opening.  I wanted my opening to be rather small, so I used 5 or 6 inches of elastic.
2. I don't agree with the verbage of one of the measurements.  The project says to cut two 16.5 inch diameter circles (one for the outside and one for the lining).  This is not meant to be the diameter of the circle.  This measurement would be the circumference of the circle.  Maybe this is how pattern instructions are written when dealing with cutting circles, but I almost ended up cutting a circle three times larger than I needed it (again, it was late).  For anyone interested, the diameter of the circle needed is 5.25 inches.  Yes, I am a math geek.