Back at the beginning of March I laid out my projects for the month. One of the items on the list was making a lunch bag since my little dog, Corbet, decided to eat the last one I made. Apparently he’s confused about what should be for lunch.
I was planning on making the lunch bag out of fused plastic bags like I had done with the last one. The good/bad news is that good plastic bags are getting very hard to come by. With a lack of supplies to work with I had to think creatively about what I was going to use for a “fabric” to work with. It had to be easy to clean, upcycled and look cool.
With the end of the month looming and most of the project list left I was getting a little bummed that I might not get much accomplished but then while driving by the liquor store, with it’s banners flapping in the wind, it struck me. Vinyl signs! And I even had a few left from some events Jake and I put on.
Here they are!
Now all I needed was a pattern. So I measured one out and got to work! I’m a big fan of making my own patterns for stuff. Custom made is the way to go!
After cutting out the pattern, I drew out my lines on the “fabric”. I wanted to lines to wash off so I just used a ballpoint pen. If you’re worried about seeing them you could use a dry erase or a permanent marker though. The pen stayed on well enough for me to cut the fabric and then wiped right off.
Off to the sewing machine. This was where the learning curve kicked in. I’ve never sewn with vinyl and it’s a pretty stout fabric. After breaking one needle (too delicate) and having the thread break a few times I made it through. I ended up using a needle for heavy cotton (100) but didn’t have any heavier thread on hand. I’ll be getting some soon!
I used a tight zig-zag stitch and backstitched at the ends of each seam since I don’t have a Serger and can’t do all the cool, fancy stitches. Hey, even my sewing machines are upcycled, thank you Mom and Grandma Jedda!
Overall, it was a fairly simple project, once I got past the thread and needle issues. Total time (without the snaps for closure) 45 minutes from start to end, including blog photos. Not too shabby. I still have to add snaps but that will have to wait until I can get to the store.
Enjoy!
Rochelle