Oh yeah, I'd prefer something that doesn't have a flowery motif on the outside. Other than that, cheap is good.

I bought a Hugger Mugger bag for use on rainy days that I like. My yoga mat is thicker than most and extra-long, and it fits in the bag fine (with room to spare, actually).

(Looking at the reviews on that bag, it looks like people are complaining about it, too. I suspect that some people may just not roll up their mats very tightly, which would make the mats hard to fit into bags and get out of bags.)

have you tried etsy? i bought mine there and love it.

occhiblu, do you have to roll your bag *really* tightly? I mean I usually take some care to do so but I'm not hyper-anal about it. Maybe I should suck it up and take the mat to a store so I can try out their bags.

occhiblu, do you have to roll your bag *really* tightly?

Because my mat is super-thick, I got in the habit of rolling it really tight because otherwise it's totally unwieldy. It's also thick enough that it'll unroll itself if it's not rolled tightly. Also I get vaguely OCD about trying to get it rolled straight, which is easiest when it's rolled tightly.

So, erm, yes, maybe I'm a bit hyper-anal about it. :-) Though mainly just at the very beginning; if I get it started right, then the rest of the rolling is quick.

I actually wonder if the thinner mats would be harder to get out of bags regardless of how tightly the mat is rolled, since they'd be more flexible and probably more likely to bend in weird ways when you're trying to get them out of the bag.

In any event, I never had any problems with that Hugger Mugger bag, and it's only $8, so it might be worth a try.

Huh, I've been thinking really hard the last few days about getting a yoga bag, or more actually about making one. Thanks for asking this! I started taking yoga classes at UW, which means 4 days out of five I have to tote not only my extra-thick yoga mat+clothes, my backpack, and at least two meals (sometimes three!) to campus. I need a better portage system.

Oh really, what yoga class are you in? I'm in Linda's class at 12:15 Tuesday/Thursday. I think she is the best.

Also, if you find a good store in this area let me know. It looks like there's a store in the U-Village, but since getting out there is a slight pain, I'm thinking about just ordering what occhiblu suggested from Amazon and paying the return postage if it doesn't work.

Heh, not that one. I'm in the 12-1 MW and the 6:45-8 a.m. (not the best decision I've made all year, I have to say) on TTh. I like the MW class (I think it's Emily?) but the TTh has a really horrible case of yoga-teacher/poetry-reading intonation which makes me CRAZY.

Oh, and I will. Or if I decide to make myself a TOTALLY OSSUM BAG and it works for me, I could see about making a second.

If you have any friends or relatives who can sew maybe they can make you one? Heck, give me the dimensions and I'll do it for postage and fabric cost. A basic yoga bag is like thirty minutes of work at worst. They're super easy. (I've made a few... I made a bag for a friend to carry her rolled up DDR mat, other people saw and said "hey, can you make me a yoga bag like that?")

Amy Butler has a free pattern on her site for a slightly more complex (with a pocket!) bag.
http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/pdfs/NigellaYogaBag.pdf
It looks to be open at the top, but adding a drawstring is easy. Just turn a bit of the fabric under and sew to finish, and leave part of the hem open. (or upscale it, put two grommets or eyelets on the fabric at the outside, within the section that will be above the closing hem, and thread through there).

other patterns
http://www.craftbits.com/viewProject.do?projectID=712
http://www.pinkofperfection.com/2006/05/look-ma-no-pattern-sewing-a-yo/

Thanks so much for the offer! But I don't think I would want anyone to go to that much trouble on my account.

FWIW, I got my yoga bag from Target. While shopping at Target doesn't give one any organic crunchy granola life bonus points, the bag a) didn't cost much, b) is big enough to fit two thin mats rolled up with each other, c) doesn't have a flowery pattern on the outside, d) has an outside and an inside pocket.