Packing cubes - Free sewing patterns

Don’t set off without our trio of Packing Cubes Planning a staycation in the sunshine? These zesty storage solutions by Chloe Hailwood promise not only to look good, but to keep your holiday essentials in order. A collection of three travel bags, you can choose between small, medium or large, depending on what you decide to pack. The stylish mesh panel at the front ensures that your bits and bobs won’t go amiss, allowing you to double check that you’ve got everything you need.

Essentials

Cotton fabric, five fat quarters, assorted prints
White mesh, 70cm square
Zip, 2.5m l Iron-on interfacing, medium-weight

Cutting guide

Small cube: one 18cm x 23cm base, one 8cm x 23cm front panel, one 9cm x 23cm back panel, two 8cm x 18cm side panels, two 5cm x 23cm strips, two 5cm x 18cm strips, two 4cm x 8cm zip covers and one 18cm x 23cm piece of mesh fabric, 53cm zip
Medium cube: one 33cm base, one 10cm x 33cm front panel, one 11cm x 33cm back panel, two 10cm x 23cm side panels, two 5cm x 23cm strips, two 5cm x 33cm strips, two 4cm x 8cm zip covers and one 23cm x 33cm piece of mesh fabric, 73cm zip
Large cube: one 33cm x 43cm base, one 12cm x 43cm front panel, one 13cm x 43cm back panel, two 12cm x 33cm side panels, two 5cm x 33cm strips, two 5cm x 43cm strips, two 8cm x 8cm zip covers and one 33cm x 43cm piece of mesh fabric, 103cm zip

1cm seam allowance used throughout, unless otherwise stated.

Press the interfacing to the reverse of cotton fabric. Measure and cut out the pieces using the cutting guide. Attach the zip pull to the zip. Pick up the zip covers. On each piece, turn a long edge down by 1cm and press to hold in place. Lay this folded side along the end of a zip and wrap the remaining fabric round to the back. Sew across the folded end to secure and tack the opposite end to hold in place. Hand stitch if using a chunky zip. Repeat for each end of the zip.
With right sides facing, lay one of the 5cm x 18cm strips of cotton along an 18cm side of the mesh fabric. Position the strip 3cm in from the edge. Stitch down the length before flipping the cotton strip over to the right side so the unstitched long edge meets up with the edge of the mesh. Press and repeat all round with the other strips, pressing the right side of the strip each time before adding a new one on to create a border around the mesh. Set aside.
Stitch a 23cm edge of the back panel to a 23cm edge of the base, with right sides facing. Start and finish stitching 1cm from the ends and corners to allow for adding in more panels. Add in the front panel and sides in the same way. Sew the short 8cm corresponding sides together to make the four corners and the boxed shape of the cube.
With right sides facing, pin and tack one side of the zip all around the top of the panels just stitched. Change the machine foot to a zipper foot and stitch all around. Open up the zip and, with right sides facing again, pin and tack the mesh panel to the other edge of the zip. Tack the last open edge of the back panel to the mesh top. Stitch all around the zip before sewing the back panel. Make some small stitches around the tips of the covered zips where they meet the panels to secure. Remove the tacking and trim the edges and seam allowance to neaten. Turn through to the right side and push out the corners to finish.