Thinking About Bags

You might have read my final analysis on making the second Petrillo Bag.  I carried that bag around for several days and doing so made me think about making bags to actually carry around.

You have probably noticed that I make a lot of bags. Mostly I give them away. There are only a few (Springy bag, Jane Market totes) that I actually carry around. Part of that is that I am one person and one person only needs so many bags. Still, I do like to make them.

As I have said in the past, I carry a bunch of stuff with me to work in a bag on public transport. The bags have to be sturdy, have lots of pockets, be on the large side and relatively stain resistant. The bags I carry to work have been Timbuktu bags for the past several years. They work but they aren’t perfect. They are large enough, have enough pockets, but they look like everyone else’s bag.  Also, I am kind of over the backpack thing with my work clothes.

When I made the Petrillo Bag, I did so because I liked the shape, mostly.

In the case of making the bag, I don’t have control over the finish, but I can choose the colors and pattern. I probably have an equal, if different, amount of control over color the as I do if I bought a bag in the store.

Using the ShapeFlex plus layers of fabric plus interfacing. That is a lot of layers to go through and my backup machine wasn’t happy. I could make a better, sturdier bag if I had a tougher machine, perhaps an industrial machine or pseudo industrial machine. There is no way I am even going to consider buying an industrial machine, but I still want to make bags. I may never do it, but there is a place where you can go and rent table saws and welding things…Tech something. They have industrial machines there. Perhaps I will go and see if I can use theirs.

I worry most about setting the bag in something and not being able to get the stain out or having the stain leak through the bag. I like my bags nice and when you take public transport, it is hard to keep things nice. This is why Sheldon has ‘bus pants.’ I tried using the fusible laminating stuff on the Scrap Lab Backpack and that worked OK. It isn’t like using regular oilcloth. I suppose I could just make a new bag if the old one got stained or boring…

Do you use bags you make?

Do you worry about staining them or ruining them?

What do you carry to work?

 

Author: JayeL

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

12 thoughts on “Thinking About Bags”

  1. I use the bags I make. I try to make them in colors or prints that won’t show dirt so much, and I am fairly careful about putting them on the floor of buses… but they sit on the floor in restaurants and at work all the time.

    I wear them out and then make new ones. I used to wash them when they got ratty, but even though the fabric doesn’t have any special finish on it, there is a crisp feeling to the fabric that is lost in washing and that is difficult to get back. So if a bag gets to the point where I think it’s too ratty to carry around anymore I let it go – either use it as a container when giving stuff to Goodwill, or cut it up into pieces and use those in something else. (My bags don’t tend to have a lot of structure, and I don’t interface or quilt the fabric.)

    That being said — the handle on the bag I’m using right now is wearing out way before the rest of the bag — it is fraying into pieces. I am carrying it anyway because I like this particular bag and I’m going to use it until pieces of it literally fall apart.

    1. I am glad that you make an effort to keep your bags off of dirty floors. I was doing that, too and feeling like quite the prima donna (one floor in Vancouver was really gross!).

      Yes, you are also right that there is always more fabric.How can I forget? 😉

  2. What happens if you wash your bags? Do they shrink? I only made shopping bags that I use on a regular basis, and wash them. They are fine. It’s just an idea…

  3. I do make bags and use them until they fall apart. I have washed some. I have patterns for more complicated bags, but I’m too lazy to do them. I have too many quilts in my head that distract me from taking the time needed to make them.

  4. I make bags, mostly messenger bags, since I like how they fit and how accessible things are. I like my bags to be washable, so I have used mostly quilting cotton, but did one with a fabric tablecloth I found at Target and it has held up nicely. I try to always Scotchgard my bags. The one I did not got grungy super fast. It also pilled where it rubs my hip, but that may be the brand of fabric. I like to customize them with pockets that fit my stuff. I have made enough of them that I know which pockets I do and don’t use. My one addition is a water bottle pocket but I keep forgetting to add that one.
    I am currently converting a mid-sized messenger bag pattern into one that will fit a laptop. It has been one heck of a process. 🙂
    A new product that I like is Soft and Stable. It’s fairly thick but my machine has no trouble getting through it. It worked really well for the laptop sleeve. I used it instead of fusible fleece. I basted it (you can also quilt it) to the exterior fabric and then made the bag as normal.

    1. Scotchgard. Good idea. I have a messenger bag pattern from Candy Glendenning that I haven’t tried yet. It is on the list, of course, but…well… you know.

      I learned about Soft & Stable from Sara Lawson (Sew Sweetness) and it is a favorite. I hope to see pictures of your efforts.

  5. It’s called TechShop and there are a few around the Bay. I’ve been tempted, but have never been in one. I also love to make bags, in dark colors. My favorite (that Kelly) made is hanging on the back of my sewing chair because it is too precious to use! Except for rare visits to a guild meeting. Defeats the purpose of a bag, however.
    I carry a backpack to work. But it is small and cute and black so not as bad as it sounds…maybe.

    1. Well, the joining fee keeps me from trying it out. I think using an industrial machine would be great, but I can’t see going to the TechShop enough to make it worthwhile. I would have to prep several bags and then go sew them all at once to make it worthwhile, I think. I don’t know. I have to check on it more.

      I love making bags. I love having something personalized that is useful (quilts are useful, but hard to carry to work). I always get comments when I am carrying a bag I have made. People are really impressed with the bags that I have made, which is a good feeling.

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