You want your luggage to stand out and be noticeable in that sea of black suitcases! Often people will tie ribbons or bandannas to 
their luggage to make it unique and personalized when they travel. How about a luggage handle cover? Several years ago I saw a tutorial for making a luggage handle cover at one of my favorite blogs, Little Birdie Secrets. I decided this year my children and I would make my husband one for Father’s Day.
I love the tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets but I am a big believer in making a craft my own. I designed a tutorial for our Bowdabra Blog that didn’t involve sewing and used ribbon instead of fabric.
I am thrilled by the idea that when my husband travels for business that not only will his suitcase be personalized and standout but that we can make him a useful Father’s Day gift that he will use and appreciate. I asked my children to pick the color combination of ribbon for the suitcase handle. This way they too had a part in the making of the Father’s Day Gift!
Materials Needed for the Luggage Handle Cover:
Instructions:
1. First begin by measuring the luggage handle. You want the cover to fit easily over the handle. Our luggage handle tapered to the sides so I only covered the very front straight section. I initially tried to cover the entire handle but because it tapered the cover did not fit correctly. You want a suitcase that will stick out in a crowd but you don’t want anything that will make it hard to carry your suitcase or doesn’t fit snugly and will get snagged up.
2. Next, measure how wide to make your luggage handle cover. You want the handle to fit tightly and easily be secured with velcro.
3. Cut felt to the size you determined when measuring the handles length and overall width. Test the felt to make sure it will fit well on your handle.
4. Cut fusible bonding web to fit over the felt piece exactly then experiment with different ribbon style combination. This part is a great way to involve children in the project if you are making it for a gift.
5. Once you have the pattern you want iron the ribbon to the fusible bonding web and the felt. Then trim the ribbon ends so that they are even with the felt. Use then clear nail polish or a no-fray to seal the ends of the ribbon.
6. Attach velcro to the bottom back of the luggage handle cover.
7. Attach velcro to the top front of the luggage handle cover.
8. The handle cover is complete and ready to be attached to the luggage.
Anyone who knows me on a semi-personal level knows that the my husband travels for business weeks sometimes months at a time. The suitcase pictured looks a little banged up because it has been all over the world (literally!). I am thrilled that my children and I can not only make something useful for my husband but also give him something that will make him think of home every time he grabs his suitcase in the airport terminal.
