Quilted 202 – Round Cargo Travel Bag
By Esi Hutchinson
The 202 – Round Cargo Bags is one of our most popular patterns. It’s super easy to make, doesn’t use much fabric, and the pattern pieces are simple enough to alter if you want your bag to be larger or smaller. There are four sizes included in this pattern, ranging from a duffle bag to a small cosmetic bag. And, again, it’s easy to adjust the size of any of these bags to better suit your needs.
This pattern suggests using waterproof Pack Cloth or Cordura®, both of which we carry on our site under waterproof fabrics . You could also use a heavy- to midweight canvas, oilskin, or denim.
The three largest size of this bag call for webbing to create two handles to hold the bag. I wanted to make the Travel Bag, which is the second smallest bag, and I wanted to use it as a large cosmetic bag for travel. I decided I didn't need (or want) the two handles so instead came up with a different way to sew on a handle at one end. I'll show how I did that later in this post.
I was also inspired by all the quilted bags I saw at the Fiber and Fabric Craft Fest. Plus, here in North Carolina, I often see people carrying quilted bags from Lily Pulitzer, April Cornell and Simply Southern. So, I wanted to show a quilted option for making these simple round cargo bags.
I found a bunch of Liberty cotton fabric strips in the scrap bin and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to use them for this project. I also recently saw Molly making a quilted pillowcase from a kit using Liberty fabrics and thought it would be a great way to utilize these small pieces of fabric.
This is how I made a quilted version of the Travel Bag from our 202 – Round Travel Bag pattern.
I sewed the strips together using a 1/4" (6mm) seam allowance. And, I kept sewing strips together until it was larger than the side piece 1 of the bag!
I found a scrap of Recycled Poly Fleece and I used that as the batting and it was perfect. I topstitched each stripe of the pieces down onto the fleece and then cut out the side piece of the bag.
I didn’t want to quilt through my backing fabric, so I cut a piece from a soft gray cotton canvas using the same pattern piece and basted it around the edge of the quilt.
I wanted the sides of the bag to match the interior, and I didn’t feel the need to quilt the ends of the bag. For each end, I cut two layers of canvas and one layer of fleece. I sandwiched the fleece between the two canvas pieces and serged around the outer edges.
There is also an optional zipper pocket on one end of the bag that I wanted to include. For this piece, I cut the End Pocket Bottom (4) from the same soft gray canvas I used for the bag’s interior. I thought it would be nice to use the Liberty fabric as a contrasting fabric for the End Pocket Top. I cut two pieces for the End Pocket Top (5): one from the lightweight Liberty cotton fabric and one from the canvas to match the thickness of the End Pocket Bottom (4), which was made with a single layer of canvas.
You can see how to add the zipper at the end on our YouTube channel.
Simple bag patterns like the 202 – Round Cargo Bags are a great way to experiment with different fabrics, quilting techniques, and small custom details. Whether you use bold prints, quilted panels, contrast pockets, or unique handle options, there are so many ways to make each bag feel completely your own. Projects like this are also perfect for using fabric scraps and trying out new sewing ideas without feeling overwhelmed. Even a simple pattern can become something special with a little creativity and personal style mixed in.