containers Archives - Page 14 of 15

White stripes

Or something of that nature. The August CAL theme on Ravelry was stripes, and the Amigurumi Army mission was monsters. I got really into my stripes project and finished it very early in the month, and didn’t finish the monster until the last weekend.

The stripes project was inspired by my tendency to take partially-cooked oatmeal to work some mornings. What does one do with it? I have some Pyrex bowls with lids, but I don’t want to tip them sideways to put into my regular bag, nor put the warm bowl in my cold lunchbag. Hence, I had an excuse to craft a made-to-order bag. I had been wanting to try out a spiral tutorial I dug out of the Internet Archive ages ago, so in three autumn colors, that became the bottom of the bag. Then I continued the spiral theme around the sides, and put the whole thing together and added handles with an accent color.

The spiral started out kind of awkward, at least the way I interpreted the directions. It smoothed out, though, and I like the way it looks a few rows out from the center. On the sides, I tried to do the same thing in terms of stitch height, with one round per color of sc, one of hdc, and one of dc, then back to hdc and sc. The finished product is slightly larger than necessary but fits the bowl reasonably well.

Now for the monster! He is gangly and gibbon-like.

I put magnets in his hands with the intention that he’d be a kind of emo monster and hug his own knees, but when he was finished he revealed that instead of being emo, he’s a monster with no sense of personal space.

Stumpy is not totally certain about this development.

The monster was freehanded, though I made some notes so the arms and legs would match. His body is basically a bowling pin, and the arms and legs have some bend to them via increases and decreases. I believe for the arms the first row was just sc across the chain, but after that I made 2 sc in each of the 2 centermost sc for two rows, then decreased twice (in the four centermost sc) for two rows, and maybe sc’d across once more before sc’ing the strip into a tube. For the legs I made 2 sc in the ends of each row and 3 sc in the centermost sc, in every row including the first one, for three rows, before doing the reverse for three rows (I used Lily Chin’s slip stitch-like decrease to decrease by three: pull up a loop in each of the next three stitches, and pull the last of those loops through the previous 2 and the one that was on the hook to begin with) and finally, again, sc’ing the strip into a tube. I stuffed him lightly, sewed the outer end of each limb closed (with the magnets in the ends of his arms), and sewed the other open end to his body. Though the yarn was already fluffy, I pulled up the nap to extra-fluffify him with a pet brush.

Luggage tag

When I made my new weekender, I made a little matching tag that had my name, number, and address written on muslin in fabric pen. I didn’t have time to make a little strap to hang it from the handle, but in the meantime I decided if I were going to keep the bag for as long as I hoped and put a lot of effort into constructing an attractive tag, it should be one for which the information was changeable.

When I returned from the inaugural trip with my bag, I did just that. The tag buttons onto the handle of the bag so that it can be removed for bag-laundering purposes, and inside there is a clear vinyl pocket slightly larger than a business card.

You need small amounts of fabric, interfacing, and clear vinyl, and a button and ribbon that coordinate with your fabric. I had the vinyl on hand from a project I did ages ago, pulled a lovely wood button from my late grandmother’s button box, and had the rest leftover from bagmaking.

Cut two pieces of fabric and one of interfacing, 10 1/2″ by 3 3/4″. Cut one piece (or two pieces, if desired) of vinyl, 3 7/8″ by 2 5/8″. If your button is between 3/4″ and 1″, cut 10 1/4″ of ribbon of comparable width; if your button is much larger or smaller, lengthen or shorten the ribbon by twice the difference in button diameter (or don’t; the strap will be longer or shorter but there’s give to it).

Pin the fabric right sides together with the interfacing against one wrong side and stitch together with a 1/2″ seam allowance, leaving an opening on one long side for turning. Trim the corners. I pressed the seam allowance out before turning it so it would be easier to get crisp edges when I turned.

Once you’ve turned, topstitch around the edges, fold it in half, and press a crease into it. The next step is to stitch the vinyl on to one or both sides. If you are only doing one pocket and have a preferred front side to your tag, put the vinyl on the back side. First make sure it fits, with about 3/4″ clearance between it and the fold line. Trim as needed. I used a nail to perforate the vinyl so I could use my regular light needle without trouble. The nail had a big flat head and I was able to make the holes pushing it with my thumb. I also trimmed a tiny bit off of two corners that shared a short edge, to be at the corners of the fabric. I made a template for the holes and scanned it in before poking holes in it. I used blanket stitch to attach it to the fabric, going only from fold to fold because I am lazy. I didn’t bother being neat by the fold because the last half inch will be hidden away.

Fold the tag in half and stitch a half-inch from the fold to make it want to stay shut. Now prepare the strap. Since my button was 7/8″, I turned one end of the ribbon 1 3/8″ and then folded it in again. You want your button diameter plus 1/2″ to be the depth of the first fold. Stitch it a quarter inch from each fold line. On the other end, fold it 1/4″ and then fold it again, and stitch very close to the first fold line. You can decide whether to fold them toward the same side of the ribbon or opposite. I did the same side, but opposite would be more standard for how it’s going to attach to the tag.

Make a buttonhole on the side with the deeper fold, essentially down the center of the ribbon from stitch line to stitch line. It will be a snug fit for your button, most likely, but you don’t want this to come off accidentally. Pin the opposite end of the ribbon to the back of your tag (the side with the pocket, if there is only one) so that it lines up with the outside edge and slightly overlaps your original stitch line, and restitch along that line to attach it. Line the other end of the ribbon up with the opposite outside edge and mark how far in the center of the button should be.

Finally, sew on the button, centered just above your original stitch line and at the marked distance from the edge. Button the tag onto your bag!

Weekender bag

I travel a lot, rather more than I would like, and decided before a recent trip than my usual carry-on was just too heavy. Even empty, it was a load, and part of that was due to a large number of internal pockets and partitions, none of which I really needed. It was also very sturdy and probably waterproof, but I decided I valued lightness more than those properties.

I went to the fabric store with the intention of getting some clearance upholstery fabric and making a new bag, perhaps even reversible, but was drawn in by an amazing calico instead (it was with the clearance upholstery fabric).

I could wad this up and bungee-cord it around my belongings and it would be pretty.

A pattern for a similar bag gave me an estimate for yardage – which turned out to be a massive over-estimate – and I bought small amounts of two semi-coordinating fabrics in case I wanted them. I also got some wide grosgrain ribbon and a zipper, and the best interfacing ever, pictured below. Also pictured is my bodkin, another essential tool to this process.

Gridded out in 1″ squares. The height of convenience.

I measured my previous bag and made myself a pattern, and then a bag. The rest is a tutorial in case you care to do the same.

You’ll need about 2 1/2 yards of 44-45″ wide fabric (pre-washed) and 1 to 1 1/4 yards of interfacing, as well as 31″ of 1/4″ wide elastic, cut into four 7.75″ pieces, a zipper at least 18″ long, and 122″ (not quite 3.5 yards) of ribbon between 3/4 and 7/8″ wide. Cut pieces from fabric and interfacing as follows:

piece	width (in)	height (in)	# in fabric	# in interfacing
front/back	19	14	4	2
bottom	19	9	2	2
sides	7-9	14	4	2
side pockets	11	18	4	0
zipper flaps	19	3.5	4	0
zipper tabs	2.5	2.5	2	0
strap	1	122	0	1
strap	2	122	1	0

If you have less than 3.5 yards of fabric or interfacing, of course you’ll have to piece the straps. In fabric, add 1/2″ to two of the pieces and 1″ to the rest, if you have more than two. In interfacing, add 1/2″ to all but one of the pieces. You could also use iron-on interfacing, which I might actually recommend for the strap.

Actually, I kind of wish I’d made the fabric for the strap a little wider – maybe three inches of fabric and an inch and a half for the interfacing. That would not only give a wider strap, but it would allow the fabric to stick out on each side of the ribbon a bit more, which would be more attractive. All the assembly steps are the same; just make sure to center the ribbon and do your stitching right at the ribbon’s edge.

Width versus height is not important for the bag bottom or the strap (well, or anything, if your fabric does not have a directional pattern). The sides are a sort of trapezoidal shape. I made them by measuring out a 9×14 rectangle, then marking in one inch on each side of the top 9″ distance. Then I draw a diagonal connecting line between the now-7″ top and the 9″ bottom, starting a half inch in from each of the top and bottom. A schematic is here.

I will give instructions to assemble the main body of the bag and lining, then construct and attach the strap, then construct and attach the top with the zipper (which happens when the outside and lining are connected). Construction of the strap and zipper assembly can certainly be done earlier/along the way.

The first step is to attach the interfacing to the appropriate pieces. Pin the appropriate interfacing pieces to the wrong side of the outside front, back, and side fabric pieces, and to both bottom pieces. Stitch at 3/8″ from the edge (or iron on).

Not quite all of the outside of the bag.

To make the side pockets, fold each pocket piece in half into a 9×11″ piece. Stitch at 3/8″ in along the fold and the edge opposite to the fold. The former makes a casing for the elastic, and the latter is to make it easier to attach to the side pieces. Feed each piece of elastic into each casing (bodkin time!) and stitch at 1/2″ on each side (the elastic should line up with the fabric at each edge). Give a couple of tugs at the ends to spread the gathers evenly. To attach to the sides, it is probably easiest to start by pinning the center bottoms together, and then the bottom corners. Pin about 2″ in from each side so the layers lie smoothly on each other. You’ll have too much fabric between the center pin and those 2″-in pins; smooth it into a pleat on each side that overhangs the 2″-in pin. Then pin up the sides and sew at 1/2″. If you are concerned about your thread showing (my thread matched well enough and the fabric was busy enough that I wasn’t) sew just under 1/2″, but as close as you can.

Next, form the vertical part of the bag: pin two sides, right sides together, to the front outside of the bag and the other two sides to the front lining of the bag. You will find they are about 1/4″ too tall; this is because of the slant of the sides. I lined them up at the bottom and found it didn’t matter much that they were off at the top. Stitch, and repeat with the back of the bag and lining to make two tubes.

To complete the basic bag shape, sew in the bottom pieces. This is a little tricky and I tried it two different ways. The one that I think worked better is this: pin the short sides together (right sides together) and stitch corner to corner. This may require walking the machine with the hand wheel at each end. Then, pin the long sides together and stitch corner to corner. It is awkward but not too time-consuming. Finally, stitch a wide zigzag in the seam allowance, just outside the straight stitch, and trim the extra fabric just outside the zigzag. You’ll probably want to press the outside of the bag so the folds are sharper.

Before the two halves of the bag are joined, the strap must be sewn to the outside part (you could sew through both layers, but I suspect it would be very difficult to get the inside smooth). To avoid using thousands of pins, I ironed the strip of interfacing to the fabric with Stitch Witchery. If you used iron-on interfacing for the strap you could just do that. Then fold the edges of the fabric over the interfacing and press.

Partially ironed.

I thought it would be a genius idea to then use Stitch Witchery to attach the ribbon to the strap, to cover over the raw edges of the fabric. I figured I could get away with a lot fewer pins that way.

Harder than I thought.

Well, I started by laying the ribbon on top of the rest of the strap and pressing. That left me with fabric bulges. So I pulled apart what I’d done and turned it all over so the fabric was on top, always ironing with motion toward the loose ends. That worked better, but the Stitch Witchery didn’t keep everything together! Maybe I could have done it with two layers, but it wanted to stick to the ribbon and not the fabric (which is the opposite of what I would have guessed). I ended up having to pin it before pinning it to the bag, just so it wouldn’t totally come apart while I was pinning it to the bag (which was an awkward operation anyway).

Starting to look like a bag.

When you pin the strap to the bag, the centers of the straps should be 5″ from the side seams and 8″ apart from each other. Each loop should be 25″ from top edge to top edge – make sure to fold the edge down inside 1/2″ before sewing the straps! Also, flatten the seam allowance toward the side of the bag rather than the base.

About half of the pins below are just through the strap, and the other half to the bag as well. Pinning took a lot of patience and a little blood. Where the ends meet, I just folded each one under and abutted the folded edges. I ended up having to redo the folding/pinning at the sewing stage.

I had only two pins left in the box when this shot was taken.

Sew the straps however seems most manageable. Since my sewing table seems to like to grab pins and remove them, I did both edges of each strap first, starting and ending a couple of inches into the bag, so I could remove those pins before sewing the rest. The body of the bag I did as four continuous stitch lines, backing up to stitch a total of three times across each edge of the spot where the ends meet. To get a neat(ish) line, I moved my needle to the right and sewed with my presser foot lined up with the edge of the strap.

Before doing anything else to the outside of the bag, turn it down 1/2″ all around the top and press. At this point if you like you can stitch the base of the bag and lining together. I just straight-stitched through the seam allowances at the corners and the middle of the long seams, bases flat together and seam allowances sticking out around. After that you can line things up and press the top of the lining down to match the outside.

Short edge first, and pin, then long edge.

The last piece you need is the zipper section. First, fold the short edges of the flaps down 1/2″ and press. With that fold in place, sandwich the zipper between two flaps, right sides together, and stitch (hat tip to Hannah for this method). I let the base of the zipper (the metal stopper) sit just outside the flaps; doing it again I might put it at least a half inch outside the flaps. I used my regular foot and let it run along the bump of the zipper, and that worked well. Do the same on the opposite side.

Fold the flaps away from the zipper and press. Line up the folded edges and stitch them together, close to the edge. I suppose you might want to topstitch to hold the flaps away from the zipper teeth, but that didn’t occur to me at the time.

Take each zipper tab and fold it in half, right side together. Stitch each of the two edges adjacent to the fold at 1/2″. Trim the corners and turn, working the corners to a point, and press. Fold the raw edge inside about 1/2″ and press. Slide one tab over the foot of the zipper, trimming the zipper tape if needed, and pin. Sew across the open edge of the tab to close the tab and attach it to the zipper.

For the head of the zipper, I moved the zipper slider just inside the fabric flap area and trimmed the loose end to just over 1/2″ farther than the flap edge. Again, I might make that just over 1″ doing it again. Slide the tab over the raw edges and stitch. Make sure when you sew this one on you do it very securely, since it will double as the zipper’s top stopper.

Finally, and I do mean finally, mark a line 1/2″ in from the raw edge of the zipper flaps (I used four or five pins on each side). Slip the flaps in between the lining and outside of the bag, centering them on the front and back and lining your mark up with the folded edge of the bag. Pin and stitch all the way around. I stitched once with my needle to the right and once with it centered, both with the presser foot lined up with the top edge of the bag.

You are done!