Wednesday, January 28, 2009

A little tutorial

The good season is approaching - or at least I hope it is! - so it'd be good to have a nice bag ready.
This shape requires little cutting and sewing, because it's a long narrow stripe. It's fun and quick to plan and weave, but any other long stripe of fabric will do.

This is how the stripe is folded to obtain the bag - the proportion between handle and bag can be varied, depending on how you are used to carrying it.
The finished stripe is about 17cm wide and the total length is about 230cm, not including the inside pocket.
If you want a pocket, you have to plan a little more warp length, in order to have an extra fold that you can keep to the inside (or even the outside!) of the bag.

If you like, you can round the corners at the bottom and add a nice lining - this one is made of cotton and goes in the washing machine with no problem.
Happy weaving!

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great design! I love things that minimise cutting - especially with precious handwoven cloth.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the inspiration - simple & perfect.

Unknown said...

I love the possibilities with this design. I did something like it knitted, with four strips, that I may try woven. Thanks for the inspiration

Avalanche Looms / Susan Johnson said...

Oh, thank you. i love how it twists- handwoven things
tend to be so blocky & square, and this design is so elegantly simple--did you design it?

Donatella said...

Hi, I am happy you enjoyed the tutorial. I did not create it myself, I saw a girl sporting a bag with this pattern but the stripe was not handwoven! There are so many changes you can do to it, twist the handle, make a woven design so that it will match when sewed, go stripey...it's real fun!

Anonymous said...

This is a great design! Thanks so much for sharing it. I'll have to give it a try sometime.

BTW - Great blog! I just found it, thanks to Cally/t'katch.

saoriweaver said...

And I found this thanks to Reluctant Dragon - thanks for posting it!

Happy Weaving,
Terri

Karen said...

I found it thanks to Terri at saoriweaver and immediately had to try the design - I used some cloth and am more than pleased. Only three seams! Now I want to experiment with different fabric. Thank you! Is it a common design; does it have a name; it reminds me of the Japanese wrist purse method - ???

Donatella said...

Terri, Karen
thank you! the design is a common one but I've no idea if it's got a name or what. I think it's one of those designs that have been around for a loooooong long time and get re-discovered every now and again. I love it because it's perfect for handwovens, but works really well with any type of fabric you choose!
Happy weaving and sewing!

Linda said...

Great little bag. I found my way here from Karen's blog.

Karen said...

Morning Donatella
I tried men's ties - !!!!!! - they work very well. The design is brilliant!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE the bag and will be making a bunch up for holiday [presents. But, I didn't see the dimensions for the strip of woven fabric.

Thanks,
Sharon

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this, I just got a (new to me) floor loom. I think this will be one of my first projects.
Karen in Wisconsin

FiberGeek said...

Thank you so much for posting these directions. I have been looking for these instructions and will be trying this out.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Donatella
This is a great design, and your diagrams are really clear and helpful.
I just blogged about my version - http://fibresofbeing.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/more-freestyle-rosepath/
Cheers
Judy

Dana and Daisy said...

I am so doing this, and I'm linking you on my blog too!

Julia Lines said...

I love the color of that fabric! And also your tags- so lovely!

Ruth said...

That is great, thanks! I've seen some of those bags, but not with such clear directions.

RuTemple said...

This was mentioned in a weavers' study group this evening, what a great project idea! Thank you for posting it.

Donatella said...

Thank you! I am happy you all enjoyed the project!

Anonymous said...

Hi from Japan, Doni. I was trying to explain to my mother how the bag is constructed, and it took some time, (OK, close to half an hour,) but I finally managed it looking at your instructions.

I still have the Suter Cafe's serviette you folded for me when we met - but that's in a notebook back home.

Meg said...

Sorry, that was me, Meg, logging in as my dad, of all people!

Donatella said...

Hi Meg, you still have that piece of serviette!
Please let me know if you need help with the diagram...you know, next time we should meet in a gallery here in Italy ;-)

Unknown said...

How sweet. I love the simplicity of the design. I found via Pinterest and can't stop staring at it. So many things this could be made of!

Donatella said...

Hi Jennifer! I agree this design is versatile, you can make it with almost anything!

ozweaver said...

This is brilliant! Don't know why it took me so long to find your creative blog! Thanks for the inspiration!

Brenda

Kathrin Kurth said...

And a looong time later... Pinterest I LOVE YOU ! :-))) And... dear Donatella, I love this Tuto, this idea, this simple thinging.
Thanks a lot and a dear hug from switzerland, Kathrin

Unknown said...

This is a great last minute Mother's Day project. I had some handspun warp and weft yarn set away so I quickly dyed it up in two fun colour ways and put it on a rigid heddle loom. So a total of 5 days I hope to have it done.

Anonymous said...

i am trying to figure this out but it seems my senses have left me. I will get it eventually ........i think

Donatella said...

I think you will be very happy with the result Trailhead Yarns! Fantastic idea to use handspun!

Anonymous...I suggest you try and do a mock-up with a smaller piece of fabric to understand the folds and where you have to sew the sides, you'll see it's not diffuclt at all!