Subscribe to our Mailing List

Get the news right in your inbox!

DIY Luggage Handle Wraps

February 7, 2023 Sarah Coggins
This post may contain affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you.

On our most recent vacation, I challenged my family to travel carryon only. We were flying to Orlando for 2 days at Walt Disney World followed by a 4 night cruise on the Disney Wish. They were skeptical at first but I was convinced (even more so after the Southwest debacle at the end of the year – of course, we would be flying that airline for the first time in forever right after). We managed to successfully pack enough for all of us for the week into 4 backpacks and 4 rolling carryon bags.

Add a little character to your luggage and make it more easily identifiable with simple DIY Luggage Handle Wraps.

Just before we left, I decided to make our luggage a little more personalized just in case. There have been trips in the past where we expected to carry on a bag and had to gate check. It can be easy in those instances to mistake which piece of luggage is yours. Also factor in that our youngest was disappointed our newest carryon wasn’t a color, I wanted to do something to make it more fun for her.

The simple solution – DIY luggage handle wraps. Best of all, I had all the necessary supplies on hand. These are a great use of leftover fabric from other projects. And, they take very little time to make. I completed all 4 of ours in a few hours the weekend before our trip.

Ready to make your own luggage handle wraps? Follow our step-by-step instructions that follow.

Supplies

  • Cotton Fabric
  • Batting
  • Quilter Square
  • Fabric Ink Pen
  • Scissors
  • Coordinating Thread
  • Straight Pins
  • Sewing Clips (optional)

Instructions

Step 1 Cut two 6″ x 6″ squares from your fabric. Both could be the same fabric or you can choose a fun pattern + one coordinating fabric like I did. Then mark a 1/4″ allowance onto the reverse side of one piece of fabric using the pen.

Use Quilter's Square to lay out and measure 6" x 6" squares of fabric.

Step 2 Cut one 5-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ square of batting.

Cut batting for inside of luggage handle wrap using Quilter's Square and Rotary Cutter.

Step 3 Clip or pin the batting on the wrong side of your fabric. Find and mark 2 vertical lines down the center to divide the square into thirds. This will hold the batting and help the design to wrap around your luggage handle when complete.

Step 4 Sew 2 vertical lines to secure the batting and fabric together.

Sew batting to one piece of fabric with 2 parallel lines dividing the square into thirds.
Shop Fabric at Fat Quarter Shop

Step 5 Pin the second piece of fabric to the piece with the batting. Be sure right sides are facing. Then sew around the entire square leaving a gap of about 1-1/2″ on one end for turning.

Step 6 Clip your corners.

Clip the corners to prepare for turning right side out.

Step 7 Use the hole you left at one end to turn the design inside out. Press out the 4 corners. I use a ball point bodkin to make it easier.

Step 8 Use your iron to press the entire square being sure to get the edges lined up and matched.

Use and iron to press entire square.

Step 9 Carefully sew around all 4 sides close to the edge. This will close off your opening and secure the entire design.

Sew along edges of luggage handle square to finish.

Step 10 Measure and cut sew on Velcro. I just hold mine to the design and mark with my fabric pen to note the length. Quick and easy. You can measure with a ruler or Quilter’s Square if preferred.

Measure velcro to cut and sew onto luggage handle wrap.

Step 13 Sew one piece of the Velcro to the underside of your design (against the 2nd fabric – mine is solid). Be sure it is parallel to the straight lines you sewed earlier to attach the batting to the front (patterned fabric).

Step 14 Sew the attaching piece of Velcro to the opposite end of the luggage handle wrap on the front (patterned) side.

Sew Velcro onto DIY Luggage Handle Wrap.

That’s it! Attach to the handle wrap onto your favorite piece of luggage and you are ready to go. Your bag will be easy to spot amongst other similar bags when flying. Repeat the steps above to make additional luggage handle wraps for the rest of your family.

Adding Extra Character Style

If you want to take your luggage style up a notch, like we did, add coordinating luggage tags! This idea hit me after I made my luggage handle wrap in Mickey & Minnie fabric. It looked so cute with my Minnie luggage tag. I quickly searched and ordered coordinating luggage tags for the rest of the family.

Luggage with DIY handle wraps and coordinating luggage tags.

Now, regardless the suitcase color, we each have one personalized to match our own favorites and fun styles. And there is no second guessing which bags are ours.

About Me

Sarah

Hi! I'm a DIY and craft obsessed mom to 2. I have my hands covered in sawdust or paint any given day. My husband and kids join me in many of our projects. When we aren't creating at home, we're creating memories in our many adventures. Join along! Read More

Sarah

Subscribe & Follow

Subscribe to our Mailing List

Get the news right in your inbox!

DIY Project Money (aka Affiliates)

Kids Craft Kits
At Home

Miscarriage

I highly recommend the book What Was Lost: A Christian Journey through Miscarriage for any woman of faith who has suffered a miscarriage or anyone wanting to gain insight to help comfort a spouse, friend, sister, daughter, etc.

Contributor

Fine Print

2paws Designs is a for-profit site. I make a small compensation from select links when purchases made via one of the affiliate companies. Select posts are sponsored and noted as such. All opinions within this website are my own. Find the Privacy Policy here.

Amazon Associates Disclosure

Sarah Coggins is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Hosting with SiteGround

Twitter Feed

×