Greetings from cold and snowy Colorado.
AArgghhh!
But on to happier topics. Have you heard of Issey Miyake Bao Bao Bags? They are a little out of my price range but I came across this video on how to make one so I thought I would give it a go using upcycled materials of course. I have a few in process pictures and tips from my own experience but I recommend the video if you want a thorough tutorial.
I started with a leftover piece of black chiffon and a pair of gold pleather pants that I had purchased to sell in my ebay store. I realized too late that they were damaged but the fabric made me keep them and now I have put them to good use. I think so anyway. :-)
To keep everything square I drew a grid on my drawing table with a crayon. It scrubs off pretty easily. And I covered my table top with plastic wrap as suggested in the video.
I cut the trangle pieces from 2 inch squares cut into 4 triangle pieces. Lots of them.
The black chiffon was easy to see through to the grid. I used fabric glue to glue the triangles down. It worked but I didn't like working with it. It wasn't very tacky and it took a long time to dry and....
there was a lot of gluing to be done.
After the bag was sewn together I used super glue to secure some of the corners that didn't stick down with the original glue.
The chiffon bag fabric is pretty strong but frays badly so used heat and bond for the seams and straps to add some extra stability and stop the fraying problem.
Then I stitched the side and the bottom, added the straps and...
I had myself a new bag.
It isn't perfect. Gluing the triangles down is a little bit like tiling. You want to be able to adjust the pieces as you work and it is pretty hard to make all the spaces exactly the same. I worked in 4" x 4" patches rather then one long line across the piece.
Happy Upcycling,
