Back-to-School Sewing: A Purdue Laundry Bag for Your Favorite College Student
Back to school means new classes, new adventures…and, for many college students, learning to do their own laundry!
Our very own Queen Bee, Kelly, recently put her sewing skills to work and made the perfect back-to-school project: a Purdue-themed laundry bag!
Whether your student is headed off to Purdue, another college campus, or simply needs a fun way to haul laundry from the bedroom to the laundry room, this project is practical, useful, and easy to personalize.
A Free Laundry Bag Pattern
Kelly started with this free laundry bag pattern from See Kate Sew. The original pattern was designed with college-bound students in mind and includes a drawstring closure, lining, and a clear pocket that can be used for a name label or photo.
Get the Free Laundry Bag Pattern from See Kate Sew
But, of course, Kelly gave it her own little twist!
Supply List
Ready to make your own laundry bag? Here's what you'll need to get started.
Materials
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2 yards of main fabric – Kelly used Purdue fabric for her laundry bag
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2 yards of lining fabric
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Interfacing – for adding stability to the bag
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Clear vinyl – for the optional label/photo pocket
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Drawstring cord – for closing the bag
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Drawstring toggle – optional, but handy for keeping the bag securely closed
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Coordinating thread
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Basic sewing supplies – sewing machine, scissors or rotary cutter, ruler, pins or clips, iron, and pressing surface
Be sure to check the original pattern instructions for the complete supply list and cutting measurements before beginning your project.
Kelly's Modification: A Boxed Bottom
Instead of following the original pattern's curved bottom, Kelly modified her laundry bag to have a boxed bottom.
We love this change because a boxed bottom gives the bag a little more structure and allows it to sit upright when you're filling it with clothes. It also creates a little extra room inside—perfect for those college laundry days when the hamper seems to magically fill up overnight!
If you've made tote bags or other projects with boxed corners before, you may recognize this technique. It's a simple modification that can give a bag a completely different look and feel.
Make It Your Own
The best part of this project is how easy it is to customize.
Kelly chose Purdue-themed fabric to create a laundry bag that's perfect for a Boilermaker heading back to campus. But you can use almost any fabric to create one that fits your student's personality.
Try:
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College or university fabrics
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Favorite team fabrics
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School colors
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Mascot prints
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A favorite floral or novelty fabric
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A student's favorite quilt-shop fabric
You could even make one for each member of the family!
A Practical Back-to-School Sewing Project
We love projects that are more than just pretty—they're useful, too!
A handmade laundry bag makes a great college send-off gift, especially when you fill it with a few laundry essentials like detergent, dryer sheets, stain remover, or quarters for the laundry machines.
And if you're sewing for a college student, adding their school colors or favorite team fabric makes it something they'll actually want to use.
Because if we're going to convince them to do their laundry, we might as well make the laundry bag cute, right?
Sew Your Own!
Ready to make one?
Start with the free laundry bag pattern from See Kate Sew, then put your own spin on it just like Kelly did.
And don't be afraid to modify a pattern to make it work better for you! Kelly's boxed bottom is a great reminder that sometimes a small change can make a project even more functional.
Stop by The Quilted Bee to find the perfect fabric for your college student's laundry bag, and then get sewing!
Whether they're a Boilermaker, Hoosier, Bulldog, Tiger, or cheering for a completely different team, we've got plenty of fabric to help you send them back to school in style.
Happy sewing—and good luck to all the students heading back to school!