Friday, August 31, 2012

Another Travel Post - Personal Hygiene Holder

Have you seen these on Pinterest?
I was thinking it would be a good idea to have.  I can't name how many times my kids have taken their stuff to a sleepover and left it or forgotten to put it back.  I thought this would be a good thing to have not only for our trip, but for future sleepovers.  I love the idea that if the toothbrush is still wet that it is in something that can not only let it dry, but is washable.

Here is what I did to make them.
Buy a 12x12 wash cloth.  You can get 2 for $1 at the dollar store.  That is what I started with to try it out.  When it worked I used a couple I already had at home.  The picture above sews every 3 inches.  I decided I didn't need a 3 inch section for my toothbrush and made some modifications.
For my son I sewed up the edges first.  
From the left edge I sewed another vertical line 2 inches away (this is huge for a toothbrush,  you can go much smaller if you wanted), then I gave another 3 inches for toothpaste, and the next section was 4 inches for deodorant.  This left 3 inches for a comb.  I used a small comb for him so that it fit in the pocket and didn't extend to get dirty from the wet toothbrush.

For my daughters I took a small piece of ribbon.  I sewd velcro on the ends so it could form a loop.  I took the middle and sewed it onto the edge of the washcloth:





Then I basically followed the same as for the boy. I used a tail comb for the girls so that the comb part fit in the pocket and didn't extend to get dirty from the wet toothbrush (the tail did, but that shouldn't get in their hair or can be easily cleaned before use).
After that I attached the ribbon.  Since the pockets aren't snug I pictured everything sliding out so I made another change here too.  I sewed ribbon on the edge at the middle and at the top.  The middle ribbon is 2 feet (I did smaller on the boys and it is a little harder to tie) and 18 inches on the top.  I just did a straight seam with the wrong side down facing the outside.  
I also heat sealed my ribbon so it wouldn't fray.  To do this just run the edge of the ribbon quickly through a flame (candle or lighter).  Then just roll it up and tie the ribbons.  
After this trip they will be used for sleepovers.  Everything they need will all be ready to go.  And when it gets wet or dirty, just throw it in the laundry!  Gotta love that!

Now that I have traveled here is what I have learned: you can make the sections smaller.  If you add more sections you made need to add length to the ribbon closures because they will be adding stuff and that will make it thicker when rolled.  My girls found all sorts of things to add and could have used more pockets.  My oldest ended up putting her comb behind her toothbrush (not sure if it stayed clean that way because she uses a brush most the time and probably could have left the comb out) and put some perfume where in the pocket.  My youngest doesn't wear deodorant so she used the pockets for perfume and body glitter.  To think at first I was wondering what to put in all the pockets, the girls figured it out for me.  I LOVE the loop to hold elastics.  That was very handy.





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