Yay! It's finally 1st August!
That means it's time to unveil my next Bag of the Month Club pattern, the Swim & Gym bag!

This bag is a quick, simple sew, perfect for summer holidays when you don't have a lot of time, and don't want to be cutting and fusing and sewing all week!

The Swim & Gym bag features self bound seams to help with waterproofness (real word), large mesh outer pockets, and a fun drawstring/strap configuration.

This bag doesn't use any stabilisers or quilting cotton, and the only hardware you need is eyelets and an optional zip.

I used Cordura (aka Tough Duck) for some, and faux leather for others. With the faux leather I used printed Ripstop as a lining. (Instructions for lining included in the pattern).

The bonus of this quick and easy summer sew, is that it folds up super flat, so you can pack it in your suitcase and take it on your holidays!

The hashtag on this pattern is #SwimmingJim. I told my husband I would be doing a Swim 'n' Gym bag for August, and he misheard and thought I was making a bag for a man named Jim who likes to swim! So henceforth, it shall be called Swimming Jim.

Out of interest I've googled 'Swimming Jim' and came up with a blog post about IU Former Swimmer and Olympic Athlete Jim Montgomery. Let's pretend he was the intended recipient?

A real life Swimming Jim who I never knew existed!

 I've grown quite fond of Jim (my imaginary Jim, I didn't know about the real Jim til today), as this pattern has developed. I imagine him to be mid 60's, with a handsome face, and a penchant for freezing sea swimming. He's a hardy fellow! If you know a man named Jim who likes swimming, this could be the perfect bag for him!

If not, it's ok, it's also great for gym classes, beach days, kids' swimming lessons, pool days, and general toting of STUFF!

I'll be back tomorrow to share with you the testers' bags, they really knocked it out of the park with this one!