MY dad travels a lot for his job, and he goes all over the world. He has packing down to a science.

For Father’s Day, I made him a shoe bag for his suitcase. The outside is a “Super Dad” T-shirt I found thrifting, and the lining is soft flannel to keep his dress shoes looking nice.

If you don’t find a T-shirt with the perfect logo on it like I did, you can use 1/2 yard of any fabric for the outer layer.

Completed “Super Dad” shoe bag.

Step five: Push the lining down into the outer shell. The T-shirt should fold over to the inside about 3/4 inch. Press along the top edge.

Supplies

• 1 T-shirt

• 1/2 yard flannel

• Scissors

• Coordinating thread

• Sewing machine

• Iron

• Pins

• 2 yards cord or twill tape

• Safety pin

Instructions

1. Cut out two panels from the T-shirt, 20 inches tall by 13 inches wide. Cut two rectangles from the flannel, 19 inches tall by 13 inches wide.
2. Place one T-shirt panel and one flannel panel right sides together and sew a 1/2-inch seam along one short end at the top. Repeat with the other panels. Press the seams on both panels to one side.
3. Lay the panels right sides together, with the T-shirt panels together and the flannel panels together. Pin around the edges, leaving a turning hole 5 inches to 6 inches wide in the middle of the short end of the flannel panels. Sew with a 1/2-inch seam all the way around the edges, minus the turning hole.
4. Flip the bag inside out through the hole. Sew the hole closed. I just sewed a narrow seam the sewing machine, but if you prefer you can hand-sew it with a slip stitch. But it’s on the lining inside the bag, so it won’t show.
5. Push the lining down into the outer shell. The T-shirt should fold over to the inside about 3/4 inch. Press along the top edge.
6. Sew a seam about 3/4 inch down from the top of the bag. Make sure to sew around the top of the bag, not sew it closed. This is the casing for the drawstring.
7. Snip holes with scissors in the casing on either side of each side seam. Make sure to only cut through the top layer. Jersey doesn’t fray, but if you made the outer shell with a different fabric, you could dab some fray check around the holes.
8. Cut the cord or twill tape into two 1-yard lengths. Pin a safety pin on one end of the first piece and thread it all the way around the top of the bag through the casing. When it comes out, take off the safety pin and knot the two ends together. Repeat on the second length of cord, but start from the opposite side of the bag. In the end, the cords should be hanging from both sides of the bag so it’s easy to cinch the top.