Finding myself in need of a yoga mat bag, I began to ponder what cool design I could use. After seeing how similar they look to arrow quivers, I decided to go the archer's route and style my bag after Hawkeye.

This is just a simple cylindrical bag that you could also use to carry a padded mat for camping or really anything that rolls up. You can add whatever designs you want. (You could easily do anyone from the Avengers like Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow etc.)

You Need

About a yard of fabric (the exact amount will depend on what size bag you need, see step 1 for measuring)
Accent fabric or embroidery thread (depends on your design, I only got 1/8 a yard and was covered.)
Thread
Sewing machine
Sewing pins
Drawstring Cording
Pattern making material or poster board

Step 1: Getting Measurements

Yoga mats come in a variety of sizes and thicknesses, which will determine how much fabric you will need. Pull out your measuring tape and get your rolled mat's dimensions.

My mat was 24" long and had a diameter of about 4^1/2".

To make sure the bag isn't too tight, add about an inch to an inch and a half to those measurements. I cut out a rectangle that was 25^1/2inches long and 19" (6" x 3.14=18.84" circumference) wide.

Step 2: Making Patterns

With my rectangle cut out, I need a bottom for my bag. I am a low budget crafter right now, so I didn't have a compass or anything fancy to make a perfect circle. So I made an X with the lines six inches wide and crossing at the three inch mark. I cut a rough square around the outside and then folded the paper in fourths and cut the curve between the points as evenly as possible. The circle may not be perfect, but it will be even on both sides.

Now you can cut out the patterns for your accent fabric. You can go nuts creatively with this. I just hand drew Hawkeye's mask and H. If you are embroidering your design, you can cut your design out in interfacing or embroidery backing instead of fabric.

Step 3: Applique and Drawstring

Pin your accent fabric to the middle of your rectangle and sew down. I recommend machine applique to make the edges clean, but you can affix your design anyway you like. A great alternative would embroidering.

Next, cut a length of drawstring cord for the wide portion of your rectangle. Make sure it is longer than you need so that you can knot the ends (I probably used about 23 inches). The side of the fabric with the design should be facing down so that the seam for the drawstring will be on the inside. Fold the end of the fabric over and pin down.

Step 4: Finishing

With the design sewn on and the drawstring in place, we can now close the bag. Fold the rectangle in half with the design side facing inward and sew the length up to the drawstring at the top of the bag.

Pin your circle to the bottom of the bag and sew. Turn the bag right side out.

For the strap, I cut a long rectangle that was 30 inches long and 4 inches wide (you can measure across your chest to see how long to make yours). Fold the rectangle's width in half and sew the length and one of the ends. Turn inside out, press down and sew to ends of the bag on the opposite side of your design.