Things I Sewed for My Vacation – Handmade Travel Accessories

There's something really satisfying about traveling with things you made yourself. This trip I challenged myself to sew as many of my vacation accessories as possible — and honestly? I'm not going back. Handmade travel accessories just hit different: they're customized to exactly what you need, they look cute, and every time you use them you get that little reminder that you made that.

These are all the sewing projects I made for my vacation — from a quilted laptop sleeve I finished approximately one hour before our flight, to scrunchies, a sunglasses case, and a skincare bag I now take everywhere. Some came out perfectly, some taught me a lesson. All of them were worth it.

Before this I was traveling with a collection of tiny PR makeup bags that could barely fit my skincare — three bags, couldn't find anything. So I decided to just make exactly what I needed.

This Chanida Handmade tutorial is really great — clear instructions and easily adjustable. I made mine taller and wider to fit my bigger skincare bottles, and added elastic straps instead of fabric ones so everything sits really snug. No more rummaging around at 6am in a hotel bathroom.

The outer fabric is from IKEA — you get a genuinely good deal on this checkered canvas, and it's beautifully thick and sturdy. For the lining I went with something lighter, which in hindsight was a mistake. The straps pull on the lining more than you'd expect, so next time I'd use a thicker fabric or add some interfacing. Luckily no rips yet.

Still one of my favorite things I've ever sewn — and it's been on every overnight trip since.

I used to just throw my cables into the suitcase and hope for the best — which meant constantly untangling them or searching through my clothes when we were packing up to move on to the next place. Not ideal.

This little L-shaped pouch from the sewingtimes tutorial fixed that completely. I made one side with elastic loops and the other with fabric pockets instead of the original zipper pocket — one zipper was really enough for me. The middle fits a power bank and camera battery charger perfectly, everything adjusted to my exact cables.

I'm not going to lie — the zipper was really tough. The IKEA canvas I used (yes, again — 3m really does go a long way) is very thick, and sewing a zipper around a curve in that fabric was genuinely tricky. It works, although it sometimes gets stuck on the inner fabric. A learning curve, quite literally.

My first real sewing project — made in my beginner's class at the Volkshochschule. I love how it turned out, though I'll be honest: the thick canvas I used was only possible because we had industrial machines in class. My home machine would not have survived it. The serger helped too.

But the concept is simple enough that there are plenty of beginner-friendly tutorials out there for a similar bag — and it is genuinely one of the most useful things to sew for summer travel. Beach day with towel, water bottle and sunscreen? Tote bag. Picked up some groceries for a nice lunch? Tote bag. Souvenir shopping spiral? Tote bag. It packs down flat in your luggage and takes up almost no space until you need it.

I'm also planning to bring mine on my next trip to keep my knitting or crochet project safe during travel — if you're looking for a good holiday project, maybe one of these?

I made this one the day before our flight because I really wanted to bring my laptop without an extra bag taking up space — cutting it close is an understatement.

The Sew Bake Make tutorial is really clear and I adjusted a few things: shorter and more squared flap, a magnetic closure because I had one on hand, and straight quilting lines instead of diagonal ones because — see above, flight to catch. I was a little too generous with the measurements when cutting which I only noticed when sewing the sides, so I added an extra seam to make it more snug. It's still slightly too long but honestly it doesn't bother me.

What does bother me? Nothing. I love the forest green, I love the quilted look, and my laptop has never felt safer in my backpack. Worth every stressful last-minute minute.

Honestly, scrunchies might be the perfect sewing project — they're quick, they're easy, and you will never have enough of them. Hair ties have this mysterious ability to disappear the moment you actually need one, so making a bunch in one sitting just makes sense.

There are so many fun variations out there — lace trim, double layered, ruffled, velvet — but a good basic scrunchie is really all you need to start. Once you have the technique down, you can go wild with fabrics. I tried a knitted fabric and a satin-y one and while the construction is exactly the same, they completely change the vibe. The satin one feels a little dressy, the knit one is more casual — same pattern, totally different energy.

I'm definitely bringing a bunch on my next vacation — and the best part is they're so quick to make that you could whip up a few the night before your trip and still make your flight. Tutorial by Seamwork →

This one might be my favorite thing I made. It's not a hard case, but with some fusible interfacing it holds up just fine floating around in a handbag. Protects your glasses, looks cute, takes up barely any space when it's empty. What more do you want?

Sewing it was surprisingly easy — the measurements from the Tendersmile Handmade tutorial were really clear and I used my first magnetic button here which I'd been slightly nervous about. Turns out it's no hassle at all. Very satisfying click.

I'm already planning to make more in different fabrics and gift them to friends — they're quick enough that you could knock out a few in an afternoon.

Bookmarks were one of the first things I sewed at home — and I made a lot of them. Some came undone because I cut too close to the seams, others had the ribbon stuck inside after turning because I'd sewn it in upside down. Classic. But since they're just little bookmarks, the fails didn't sting too much — and I learned a lot from those tiny mistakes!

I also tried a quilted look for the first time and instantly fell in love with it. A few went to friends as gifts, and one is definitely coming on my next trip. There's something really nice about reading on vacation with a bookmark you made yourself.

I can't find the exact tutorial I used anymore, but this one by Pin Cut Sew shows a quilted style and a fun variation using scraps — which I now really want to try.

This one is useful at home and on vacation alike — it keeps your hair out of your face during skincare, makeup, or whenever you feel like a little spa moment with a face mask. Practical and cute at the same time, which is really all I ask.

I skipped the bow from the Sew DIY Easy tutorial because it didn't suit my fabric and felt a little impractical for travel — but I'm already thinking about making a second one for home with the bow. Different vibes for different occasions.

Super quick to make and very beginner-friendly — honestly one of the easiest things on this list.

A last minute addition to my vacation sewing pile — I kept throwing earrings into my makeup bag or carrying them loose in my purse and then spending ten minutes searching for them. Not anymore.

This little pouch from the Melanie Ham tutorial is really quick to make and I love my fabric choice. The thread color wasn't a perfect match so the seams are more visible than I'd like — next time I'll actually buy a matching one instead of just hoping for the best. I also used a blind stitch to close the opening instead of topstitching all around, which I think looks a little neater.

These would also make really lovely gifts — small, personal and actually useful. I'm curious to see how it holds up on the road!