Making bags: instructions/tutorials

hacksterbator · Post by **hacksterbator** » 13 Dec 2007 22:14

mosher wrote:Yves Kreil, the new superstar stitcher from Berlin

Whaa??? I must have one!!!!! I bet that's what makes him so super shuffley!!!

warri0r_bg · Post by **warri0r_bg** » 16 Dec 2007 11:01

I have a big problem with the stitching technique...First my thread pass through dots which i drew nearer to the center of the pent/hex...And i pulled hard the flower's shape was irregular and a pencil couldn't enter the hole...The abg was too small, not playable and when release it it rolled 2-3 times on the ground...Than i ried a new technique-dots closer to the edge, pulled at max...But the lead dropped , cuz there were holes by a bit harder pulling...Now i donno what to do...HELP!

Benzilla · Post by **Benzilla** » 16 Dec 2007 11:08

could you post a picture of the problems you've said. Its kinda hard to understand what the problem your having is.

warri0r_bg · Post by **warri0r_bg** » 16 Dec 2007 11:09

Not now...But i'll try to explain better...Tell me where to make my dots, how hard to pull, to have a golf-size bag, to be SOFT!!!! and playable!!! PLEASE!

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 16 Dec 2007 12:23

1. Too much gather. Loosen it up. Use your pinky or a pen cap to make it a little bit even. Work your gather so that it can loosen itself a bit. Don't knot until you can have comfortable gather.

2. Concerning how you're placing your "dots": Too close to the edge could cause the fabric to expose themselves through the stitches, while too far from the edge can make for a stiff bag. I don't know what measurements you should take, but I'll say 2mm. Or the size of a wrinkle on your fingers. Make sure that your stitches are even and secure.

century264 · Post by **century264** » 07 Jan 2008 10:17

So I'm sitting here and i have some new white and light blue facile with me. However, I'm somewhat new to stitching (I've made about 20 bags) and I don't exactly know how to identify what side goes on the inside of the bag because I got a bunch of fabric from a friend who told me what side was what. Even he screwed up though because one of the colors was the wrong side anyway. So I was just looking for some help on which side is the In-side and which is the Out-side.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 07 Jan 2008 10:22

Pengu wrote:The good side is like carpet, it changes colour when you brush it against the grain and has a definite grain to the fibers and all the fibers lie in a certain direction. The bad side is all over the place and has no specific direction where the fibers lie.

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 07 Jan 2008 11:22

the good side is typically lighter colored as well. but the color changing is the most definite test to check in my opinion. and obviously the "good" side faces out when you stitch the bag.

good to hear you're still stitching ian, i definitely liked the bags you've made that i've had the pleasure to kick on.

mc · Post by mc » 07 Jan 2008 12:35

hey, the white can be a bit hard to tell on, I wish I'd marked it for you. just put the shaggier side out. the quote that erik posted above is right on. make sure to send me some pics of the bags you make!

Benzilla · Post by **Benzilla** » 07 Jan 2008 13:39

slapdash21 wrote: and obviously the "good" side faces out when you stitch the bag.

Don't you mean in.

And the good side also feels softer than the bad side. With white however it can be very hard. Get into a well lighted area and stare at the good side of one color, then match the texture of the white facile to that of the good side of the other color. Its what i did.

mc · Post by mc » 07 Jan 2008 13:44

Benzilla wrote:
slapdash21 wrote: and obviously the "good" side faces out when you stitch the bag.
Don't you mean in.

NO!!!!

I'm so emphatic about it because my first 26 bags were made under this same misconception that you've got.

frozenwalkway · Post by **frozenwalkway** » 07 Jan 2008 15:45

lol i think he means the good side faces in, because you stitch a bag inside out. then flip it out for the last stiches

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 07 Jan 2008 20:00

oh.

could be.

century264 · Post by **century264** » 08 Jan 2008 00:28

so what you're saying is the side that is like carpet and has a definite grain should face inward and that will be where i trace my shapes? or should the side with the random grains be where i trace and what eventually becomes the inside?

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 08 Jan 2008 04:55

i trace my panels on the side that will eventually be the outside. since the pen marks are so close to the edge you never see any of them once the bag is stitched. when the bag is finished, the side that changes color like a carpet should be facing out.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 08 Jan 2008 05:34

Okay, here's what everyone means:
The "good" side of the facile (the side that changes appearance when you pet it like a cat) will eventually be on the outside of the bag, when it is completely finished. When you are actually stitching one panel to another, however, you will be looking at the bad sides, with the good sides touching (the stitch will be on the inside of the bag).

I don't think it matters that much, but I trace on the bad side. I guess pros I can see to my method would be that if you have any stray marks, or anything, they would be on the inside; and also I guess a pen may mark easier and more consistently on the side that doesn't have a "grain" (not sure how to use that term the way I mean to).

century264 · Post by **century264** » 08 Jan 2008 09:24

Alright next question. For the last ten or fifteen bags I've made, I used some of my mom's old fabric, which happened to be ultrasuede light. She's a quilter and bought it for the color and I had the good fortune of finding it in her remnants collection.
Now I found a thread a while ago that talked about how to find the in and the outside of it and I followed those directions and I got nice bags out of it, but lately they have been breaking down quickly (like 1-2 months instead of 3-4 to start getting holes). At YEAH, Matt Cross was telling me I might be using the wrong side out on the facile, so it was partially for this reason that I started this thread.
Now I went back to the facile I've been using and started looking at that critically. It seems that the side that has a definite grain is the side I've been using as the outside the whole time on that guy. Do you think that the facile is just old and it breaks down quickly for that reason?

frozenwalkway · Post by **frozenwalkway** » 08 Jan 2008 12:42

bag durability has many factors. a big factor could be the filler and weight of your bags. alot of people say steel is harder so when a bag hits the floor the hard steel crushes the facile into the ground harder than lead.

and a heavier bag in general will probably not last as long becaues of the weight that is smacking the bag onto the floor.

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 08 Jan 2008 13:49

The bad side is where it's rougher, and you want that side facing inward of your final footbag project so that it foesn't make your footbag susceptible to pilling. That surface should be interacting with the filler.

The good side is soft like carpet. This is where the panels should be pressed against each other when stitching.

If it's not laundered, water damaged or scorched, the way in which you feel that old fabric is weaker is probably due to the dust particles. Maybe it makes the fabric feel softer? I know I have some really old facile lying around.

century264 · Post by **century264** » 08 Jan 2008 15:46

Thanks frozenwalkway that could be my problem. I do use pure steel filler on my bags. Maybe I'll invest in some lead or poly fill.

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Making bags: instructions/tutorials

which is the right side of facile?