Bag "Bliss - Step 3

Dun, Dun, Dun...and now, the final chapter in the epic bag-blitz!

(Catch up with Step 1 and Step 2 if need be!)

We printed, we sewed, and now it's time for drawstrings - so grab your materials and let's go!

In addition to the assembled bag, we'll need string

and some eyelets/eyelet-setter.

(I'll be using a Crop-A-Dile, which I looove)

Now remember how I said we'd stick the eyelets in before sewing the bag all the way around? Well, if we didn't do it that way, I wouldn't be able to fit the Crop-o-dile in to punch the holes! So start with the unsewn bag, and mark off where you want to put your eyelets. They should be towards the bottom of the bag, on either edge of the side that rests against your back. We'll be using two eyelets per side, since these particular eyelets are too small to fit two strands of string in one.

We measured down 18" to the point where the ruler hit the curved line we drew.

Then we went 1.5" up from that point and made our first position marking.

Repeat on the other side, then lay the ruler between the two points.

Measure 3/8" (3 ticks on a inch ruler) inwards, and make second position marks on each side.

Now we're ready for eyelet setting.

Punch out holes where you made your position markings. Make sure you only punch through one layer of the fabric!

Insert an eyelet to the hole, with the finished side facing the "right-side" of the bag.

Now Squash the eyelet down with your setter. (a.k.a., the "fun" part!)

Here's what it should look like on the "wrong-side" (inside) of the bag.

And again, on the "right-side" (outside)

Now put the bag down for a moment and grab your string. You'll need two equal lengthed pieces of your size preference. We used 72" pieces that we bought from Home Depot. Melt down the ends of the string to prevent fraying (only if you're using synthetic ropes! Natural fibers will go up in flames!)

We used a piece of wire to help guide the strings through the flaps.





With the bag right-side out, thread the strings through the eyelet holes.

Tie an overhand knot to secure the strings.


And D O N E spells done!




Logistics -
163 bags total - 157 good bags, and 6 fail-bags, so that's a yield of about 96%.

Cost Breakdown
fabric = $1.84/bag
eyelets = $0.15/bag
string = $1.04/bag
Emulsion and ink: $0.21/bag
Capital cost for Crop-A-Dile, YUDU, screens: $283
Total Project Cost (material + capital) = $810.52 total, $5.16 per good bag.
Total Project Cost (material only) = $527.52 total, $3.36 per good bag.

...Which, if we ignore any operating costs (free labor!), falls below the $5/chair I was quoted for chair cover rentals. Huzzah! :D

Now, if only I knew how to fit them all into my suitcase...

What's the first thing you did after finishing a major project? Take a relaxation break, or jump right into something else?

Bag "Bliss" - Step 2

Continuing on with the next installment of the big-bag-adventure (Step 1 is here), we have the sewing!

At about 100 inches of sewing per bag, this adds up to roughly 1,000 feet of "mileage" on my little sewing machine. Good thing we bought those giant spools of thread!

We start with our printed sheet of fabric, which is a 18" x 47" size. This is a tad larger than the average backpack, since it was meant to fit the reception chairs, so if you want to make your own for non-chair use, I suggest making it a couple inches shorter in length.

Next I sewed over the top edge and 3-4 inches down each side. I tried to make this fold as small as possible, since the only purpose it serves is to hide the raw edges.

Now, fold over the top about an inch, and crease the fabric. If your fabric isn't easily creased, use pins. Make sure the fold is as straight as possible. I used "Duck" fabric, which is an amazing canvas material that creases and sews very easily.

Sew the fold down, leaving plenty of space to shove the drawstrings through later. Repeat on the opposite end of the fabric.

Now when we fold our fabric in half, we should have two holes/tubes along the top edge to put our drawstrings in.
Depending on whether you want a straight bag or a round bag, this step could be skipped, but in our case we wanted to match the curvature of the chair, so we made a template to trace onto the folded fabric. (Note - this is all done with the reverse side of the fabric showing.)

We added our eyelets (which I'll cover in the last post of this series), and then sewed around the edges to seal our bag.

Finally, we cut off the unnecessary fabric (in this case, our corners).

Here we go!

And turning the whole thing inside out..

Sewing complete! Last step to come is the drawstring attachment!

Anyone else breaking out the sewing machine for their wedding?

Bag "Bliss" - Step One

One minute I'm completely in love, beaming from ear-to-ear, practically glowing with excitement. The next, I'm mad as can be, utterly disgusted, and ready to physically tear to pieces that which I adored only a moment before.

Don't worry, my unsteady relationship issues are not with any particular fiance, but rather with our favor-bag-chair-covers. They have quickly made my shortlist for "worst-wedding-decision-ever-made", but know I say that simply because I have only 12 days to finish all 120 of them. During that time, I'll be rolling out a three-part series on the subject, in which you'll realize why making one's own chair covers is not a popular wedding trend.

(For catch-up on how this project has evolved with time, read my prior posts here and here and here and here and finally, here.)

Taking a focus on the first stage of mass production, we have the silkscreening. Though I've shown the YUDU process before, here's a quick and dirty video of Sak and I highlighting the repetitive process:

Screen-printing with the YUDU from penga on Vimeo.

Half of the pile we started with -
...Have now literally flooded our home in the form of drying bags.

On the living room floor...

On the back of the couch...

On the dining room floor...(don't worry, we swiffered beforehand!)

"Oh, the big waterfall of bags!"


We printed in several shifts - first the mon design on the front, then the "label" on the inside. Some days I wonder why we didn't just go with a smaller monogram or catchy saying, but oh well, too late now.

We printed straight through three jars of white Speedball ink (superior to YUDU ink in my opinion due to it being thinner and less likely to clog up the screen).

We printed so much our original burned screen's emulsion faded out (after about 80 or so prints). A new image had to be etched.

And the list of "crap-I-screwed-up" pile grew large. Good thing we bought the extra yardage!

But they are all printed now.

THEY ARE ALL PRINTED NOW.

You have no idea how good it feels to say that.

Some small tips I have for the process:

-Don't be stingy with washing the screen out. We were on a roll printing 20, 30, 40, 50 bags...and then the paint started drying into the screen! This can permenantly ruin an expensive $20 screen, so don't get greedy. Take a break, wash the screen out, and always use fresh paint.

-After washing your screen out, let it dry completely. Don't rush with a wet screen, that's how you get the emulsion to wear off even faster. Take a hair dryer to it if you must, but let it dry COMPLETELY.

-Invest in some screen blocker. If part of your emulsion does fall off, you can use the blockout to plug up any holes, without having to re-expose a whole new design.

-Check the underside of your screen between each print. We noticed that sometimes bits of fabric would stick to the back of the screen during a print, therefore creating spots on the next print. You have to pick the lint off if your fabric is prone to shedding.

-If your image isn't coming out cleanly, sometimes it's better to flood the screen more rather than press down harder. Too much pressure can cause the ink to bleed.

-To print on dark fabrics, make sure you use opaque ink. Anything else just seems to fade away.

*Phew!* To anyone considering a YUDU, don't let my frustrations sway you - it really is an amazing machine. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time and test fabric to get the hang of it!

And though my journey through screenprinting (for this project) is over, we still have a long road to travel before we make it out of the tunnel. Next, we'll cover the sewing process!

What's been the biggest bane of your DIY existance? How did you prevail?

The Big Bag Setback

Remember those silly little bags of mine? Well, they made the trip over to Hawaii (along with some Trader Joe's biscotti - did you know TJ's products are precious commodity over there?) to the waiting arms of Auntie-Saka.

She set up an appointment with our venue, and tried the covers on the bags.
Here's Bag #2, the biggest of the three. She said this one fit the best, since it was long enough to cover the entire chair back. I think this would look very nice with a wide satin ribbon tied into a bow around the base. (Bag #1 was too narrow and did not fit at all.)

Bag #3 was also a good fit, but not quite long enough to cover the back.

And not only did she take pictures, she also traced the outline of the chair back for us on cardboard!

But as much as I'd like to say this was a successful mission, Aunty-Sak did voice several concerns.

1) The mon is upside down. Well, I knew this was going to happen, obviously, but I figured a right-side up bag was more important than a right-side up chair. I don't think it looks too silly upside down, do you?

2) The strap just kinda hangs there (you can see this on bag #3). This, also I can deal with. Maybe we'll make it a drawstring type bag instead? or we could always just tape the strap inside the bag.

3) The chair seat. Yes, this would be the biggest problem, and one that I underestimated. Aunty Sak makes it clear that the bright blue/mauve combo on the chair does not go with the black bag. And here I though black goes with everything! I had hoped that this problem would be minimized by the fact that people have their butts on the chair, but due to her strong opinions, I'm wondering if I should do something more. MO'H suggested putting a flap on the bag, that would double as the seat cover, but part of me thinks that I'd be overcomplicating things.

So I don't know what to do now. I still love my original idea, and am 99% sure I will stick by it, but when Aunty-Saka says I should just scrap it and rent covers instead, and mom-penga says I should rent "those cute little bamboo-looking chairs" (chivari) instead...Well, it's kind of disheartening.

Anyone else have a moment where your plans didn't mesh with those of others? Did you end up changing your plans, or stubbornly stick with your gut?

And any of you crafty people out there know how I might take care of that pesky seat?

Bag Bliss

Previously on The Saga of the Magical Chair-Cover-Eco-Bag-Favor...

We had a sizing issue. If we were to make a couple hundred bags, it would be nice if they actually fit on the chairs in Hawaii, right? Well, I emailed the venue to ask what the dimensions were. They gave me a few numbers, but recommended I save myself some time by simply renting covers. Unfortunately, when in DIY-mode, practical advice falls on rather deaf ears.

Now, it's not that I don't trust their measurements; I'm sure they are correct. It's just, I need to visually see the "end product". For example, you can calculate and order a certain-sized part for a job, but you never really know if it will work out until you see it in action.

There's a reason you can never do a worksheet without this baby:

|(Theoretical - Actual)/Actual| * 100 = % difference


So we made up three different-sized samples to try out.



I tagged each different bag with a number, and we'll ship them out to Saka-Aunty.

#1 - 16" x 22", squared corners. The square corners are the easiest to sew, and look more "bag" than "cover". But I am worried that these corners might flop around too much on the round chair.

#2 - 18" x 22", rounded corners. The reason we have two at the 22" length was because that required the least amount of cuts to the initial fabric. We're thinking mass production here!

#3 - 17" x 17", rounded corners. This one is my favorite, as it looks most like a bag. I put a strap on this one, to simulate what it might look like. The actual strap will probably be nylon or something more sturdy.



She'll then go down to the venue and try on each sample real-time. She's so awesome! Hopefully our % difference is as close to zero as possible. But since there will always be a difference - with her judgement we can fine-tune the measurements before starting on mass-production.

The goal being to finish all 200 before we go to Hawaii this Christmas.

Do you have any projects where your expected measurement varied significantly from your actual? This might apply to dress sizes and budgets as well!