I DID A CRAFT PROJECT!

[smeddley]

I totally wanted to quit half-way through, but I made myself finish. Sewing on the sewing machine isn't any easier than anything else on my poor, stupid, crappy wrist, plus it's nasty and hot and humid - and with an eye on the electricity bill, the upper floor of the house is just cool enough when you're sitting about not doing much, but any activity is a bit warm. [/whining]

So anyway, following the tutorial here and using some pretty... interesting fabric (I got it in a boxful at a garage sale) I made this:




When I first saw a link to that tutorial I was really excited. I thought it would be a great, easy way to use up a lot of the fabric I have lying about. I could give them as presents and whatnot! How awesome. However... (there's always a 'however') I'm not sure now. Granted, the first one took me a lot longer that subsequent ones would (learning the procedure and stuff) but I was also fairly quick and loose with my measurements and pinning (as this was a trial run)... so I'm not sure how much time I could shave off. In the end I was left with something that really did resemble a plastic bag:



Only far, far, far heavier and bulkier. Sure, you don't have to worry about it breaking - the double layers of fabric and double rows of stitching are quite sturdy) but it's also not all that convenient to carry around. Which would you rather stash in your purse for that unforeseen trip to the grocery store?



And really, with the commercial re-usable bags:



...going for $0.99, is it worth the time and effort to make these? I dunno. It was a fun new thing to try, and it does make a good product, but I'm not sure the time and expense are worth it. And since I'm a 'results' sort of crafter, I don't think it's for me.

But you never know, I may make some more.

Comments

[clare-dragonfly.livejournal.com]

Hm, that's pretty cool. Maybe I'll make some. It would certainly be sturdier than my knit one, if only because the handles are of a piece with the bag. Plus, I have way more fabric stash that needs to be used up than yarn stash...

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I like the idea of clearing out a bunch of fabric at once! I think my fabric stash is worse than my yarn stash, but it's a really, really, really close race.

[clare-dragonfly.livejournal.com]

My fabric stash is bigger than my yarn stash, and while I know my yarn stash is generally pretty high-quality (because I'm a yarn snob and remember buying it all), I don't know much about most of the fabric, since the majority of it was random stuff from my grandmother. Plus, I have plans for most of my yarn, and almost none of my fabric...

[dulcamatrix.livejournal.com]

OMG that fabric is the same pattern from the wallpaper in my childhood bedroom.

as a matter of fact... it's STILL there!
lolololol

cute bag... you are very talented!