Mom, I think you were right, aka: Home made towel beach bag

I was so excited about my idea.

I was inspired by many different photos and projects I saw around the Internet.
I had a bath towel that needed to be put to good use.  It's a good towel; made from bamboo, nice and plush, dries quickly.  It just doesn't get used a lot (I don't think it absorbs very well).  The "plush" part should have stopped me.

I needed a new pool bag.
According to many websites, it's easy to re-purpose an old towel as a bag!  Voila!
I commissioned my lovely mom and her super cool sewing machine to embroider some summer-themed graphics on two brightly colored washcloths.  Pockets for my bag!

She brought them to my house and they looked great.  We brainstormed my sewing plan and she mentioned, "That's a lot of layers of towel to sew through".  Pssh.  I can't do it, Mom.

Mom, I think you were right.

I sewed the embroidered washcloths on the towel to make pockets.  No problem.
I added the flip-flip ribbon for decoration.  That got tricky as I was sewing it along the washcloth seam.  Maybe measuring would have helped a little...

I turned the towel inside-out to sew the seams.
It was very, um, plush... sewing two edges of that towel together.
I started sweating.
I broke a sewing machine needle.
I envisioned myself staying up until all hours of the night, sloppily hand-sewing it together with thimbles on every finger.
Nevertheless, I still did a fancy thing on the bottom of the towel, sewing it to make a flat bag bottom.
I broke another needle. 
I was so ticked by the time I started sewing the handles that I didn't even match thread colors.  The bobbin color is different from the top color which is all different from the towel color!

I slung it over my shoulder to test it out, and that sucker is huge.  I was blinded by the frenzied excitement of creating something new and didn't realize how monstrous the bag would actually be.   It looks like I decorated a giant, pilfered spa towel.  I am going to be the talk of the kiddie pool and I know exactly which one of my mom pool friends is going to say, "Amanda, seriously?  You're weird.  Watch TV instead."

Mom, you were right.  It was too plush.  After all these years and all your sewing expertise, I should know to listen to you.  Stupid Pinterest gets me all excited.

I still think my towel bag is a good idea in theory.  Maybe I will still be the talk of the kiddie pool because it's a fun idea.  And I'll still have pockets for things.  We'll be able to carry our beach towels, pool toys, sunscreen, water bottles, a dump truck, the microwave, and a few lawn chairs.  Seriously, I think the kid-sized lawn chairs would fold up and fit inside.

If you make one of these, do it better than me.  Use an old, thin, worn-out towel that is not spa-sized.
I do like the bright colors I used.
The decorative ribbon cost me $2 and the bag strap material cost me $2 and the towel and washcloths are re-purposed, so it is a cheap bag.
I didn't even do any cutting and without all the plushness-induced sweating, it would have taken me less than an hour to make, so it's easy.

I'd love to hear if you have any better towel bag making experiences!

And here she is... make room!