Bag Help

will_T · Post by **will_T** » 23 Dec 2009 12:05

the main difference between 2 and 3 stitch bags is aesthetic. it also takes less time to make 2 stitch bags, so they're good for experimenting with color combos, gather, etc etc. i made 2's exclusively until i was happy with my template and gather, then i simply put more stitches on each side and the outcome was very nice.

try both and see how you feel about them

ps- as far as durability goes, i believe that has more to do with filler, how far from the edges you stitch, and the color selection. matt's a wealth of knowledge in that department, as i believe every bag he makes is custom sewn and filled to fit the colors he has chosen.

Richardlss · Post by **Richardlss** » 23 Dec 2009 14:19

Im on 3 stitches right now, i'll see how 2 stitch looks next... The purple facile screws with my eyes for some reason its just hard to see which side is the "rough" side and which side is the shinny side...
Thanks for the help so far guys, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Richardlss · Post by **Richardlss** » 28 Dec 2009 12:21

Alright guys, the next questions I had were about filler... The bags im making starting out are going to a few friends, some have kids who will be playing with them, so lead is almost out of the question... but copper cover lead? it sounds good to me, but if i told the people who get them its copper cover lead all they will hear is "lead"... so i was curious on where you can get tungsten in alittle bulk, instead of just 200 grams or so...
and what exactly is seed bead? I'd like to have heavier bags 40-60 grams, and between half and 3/4 full for now...
Just some venders would be nice to know...

Richardlss · Post by **Richardlss** » 02 Jan 2010 06:08

Alright heres number 5 and 6 (but the first 2 i made with facile) sorry for the bad picture but for some reason i cannot find an SD card for the camera or even a frickin usb cord around here!!!

All I've gotta do is fill it (these are just being filled with polly pellets when they show up) and get the last side stitched up...

Donovon · Post by **Donovon** » 02 Jan 2010 12:36

Those are looking pretty cool man. Esp the purple/blue one.
Any chance getting a shot of them next to a golf ball when you fill them? And i could sell you some steel shot if you need it. I have plenty extra of that and plastic.

http://www.freedomfootbags.com/
This place sells tungsten by the ounce, they sell two sizes, but the price can really add up.

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/
This place sells lead, steel, and tungsten, if you are willing to buy 7-10 lbs at a time. The steel i have is size 7 from here. (the good tungsten is the "hevi-shot")

There must be a million posts here about filler. IF you find a bag you like, ask the stitcher about their fill. Holly is the only one i know who uses seed bead, which to my understanding are little glass? beads. Its a complimentary filler. Pros and cons of different fillers vary from person to person.

~Donovon

Richardlss · Post by **Richardlss** » 02 Jan 2010 13:07

Hey thanks

I thought they came out alot better than expected! The purple/blue ones for my daughter she picked the colors out herself... im currently making a black/red one (well its the midnight blue) cause i read the black noir is junk... but sewing on black or dark stuff isnt the best on the eyes! I need a desk light to help me out.
I ordered 2lbs of polly pellets from an online teddy bear place, i wanted the 2mm glass beeds but they only sell them by the 10lbs. But whenever they do show up imma get the bags filled with only poly pellets since they are both for the kids, but i'll get a pick of them 75% full next to a golfball.

Yea i seen freedoms tungsten but wish they sold more of it! or found a place that was cheaper by the pound!

and i'd hate to buy 10lbs of some of these things, since right now this is just a hobby of mine...

And I actually wanted to experiment with a metal shot for weight, polly pellets for the fill, and some sand... just to see if the sand would act as a rough surface so the pellets didnt roll against each other... I read plenty that you just have to experiment with filler to get it right...
So I'd deffinately be interested in buying some steel shot sometime soon just let me know how much cost and weight.

Thanks again

Donovon · Post by **Donovon** » 04 Jan 2010 21:07

Well, since i bought like ten lbs of steel shot i could easily spare a few lbs. PM me how much you are interested in and ill have to check how much it would be to ship something like that.
You will have to play around with weights, but different players like different weights too. I dont know if you've mentioned this before, but do you have any stitchers bags to compare yours to? Pics can only give so much.
And with weights, different fillers have different densities (i.e. the same volume or space inside the bag of diff fillers would result in differnt heaviness).
O, and ive not had problems with black noir.
~Donovon

Richardlss · Post by **Richardlss** » 05 Jan 2010 03:16

I could get by with a pound or two for now, im so slow at making progess with bags! I've just got those 2 done right now and they are getting filled with polly pellets... the one im working on now is almost done, i just work 12 hour days, so the only time i get a good chance to work on them is when im off...
Currently I dont have any Stitchers bags, just one from dragonfly footbags and a couple from a local sports shop (sand hack bigger than a golfball) but its held up through the YEARS! i love that bag!

I would love to have a haniabag though, they are awesome looking bags, but theres alot of money going out right now on my part so i've just gotta wait until i get taxes or somehing

will_T · Post by **will_T** » 05 Jan 2010 13:41

if you like, i'd love to trade a footbag with you. i'm fairly busy with work as well, but once you get your filler in i'd love to see your work firsthand. let me know if you're interested. i just got in some fresh new colors that i'm dying to use

Donovon · Post by **Donovon** » 05 Jan 2010 15:09

Once you get some metal in your bags id totally be down to trade too.
And Will, we should setup a trade. I dont really do 2 stitch but if you are interested in a three stitch, id be down.
~Donovon

Richardlss · Post by **Richardlss** » 05 Jan 2010 17:51

Im willing to trade, it could be another couple weeks though, im not too confident in my stitching just yet! im tired of waiting for that polly pellet to show up, so im gonna head to a few places tomarrow to see what i can find for filler for the first 2, and see how my blind stitching goes, that part is really hard for me!!!

will_T · Post by **will_T** » 05 Jan 2010 18:05

cool, glad you hear you're up for a swap

a trick you could try for the blind stitch is to sew 4 of the last 5 seams as usual, and then work slack back into the first and last edges you had sewn so that you can open the bag wider to invert it. then, you only need to do the last seam blind.

Richardlss · Post by **Richardlss** » 06 Jan 2010 07:07

Well the way i was doing the last stitch was sewing all the last seams but on the very last side leave the seam stitched loose, then flip the bag rightside out and after filler slowly pull that last seam stitch by stitch... hope that makes since cause things like what you said and i said are hard to explain!

Richardlss · Post by **Richardlss** » 06 Jan 2010 17:40

Allright Surprisingly my polly filler came in!!! So I finished up those 2 bags, that blind stitch isnt as bad as it sounds! But the blue and white came out with more gather (which i wanted) and the purple and blue didnt have any gather... but tell me what you guys think

Oh an the purple one is slightly bigger.. but they are both still bigger than a golfball... so im going to use a different template next time, so if you guys have any suggestions on the deminsions that you use i'd appreciate it.

akalazou · Post by **akalazou** » 07 Jan 2010 06:57

for your 2 first bags (i thnk even if i didnt read all this threath) its good, of course, more gather = smaller bag. take the template generator to make your templates and the best is to be lower than 1inch. i think i use something like .8 for the hexes and .7 for the pents. not sure of the % caus i had like 30 and i cut it because i wanted a new size and i didnt have access to a printer ... so i might be at 20% right now, but im not sure.

and fyi, you can buy polly pellets at wallmart ...

Richardlss · Post by **Richardlss** » 07 Jan 2010 09:42

I've never actually seen any polly pellets at walmart... The site i went to sold a 10lb bag of glass beed 1.5 mm to 2 mm which i think would've been great, but i just got a 2 lb bag of their polly pellets...
The demensions i used were .78 pents .95 hex and 30%.... Im going to bring those numbers down quite a bit especially the hex's and the hex short side length %
Im trying to decide on how deep to sew, my first 3 bags were sewn pretty deep, im just afraid of going to shallow and the bag ripping!
Even though those 2 bags were filled with polly pellets and feels like they might fly away cause they are so light, they feel pretty good kicking around, mostly because i have that sense of accomplishment you know, my first hand made bag!

Donovon · Post by **Donovon** » 07 Jan 2010 10:12

Congratulations man.
You really dont want to sew deep at all. You can keep your stitches like 1mm away from the edge (just make sure you do that everywhere) and they will still hold. Facile is certainly strong enough. This should help with size.
And with templates that size, you should be able to pull the gather a lot tighter. Its alright if it bunches up. Most bags are medium-to-high gather now.
And metal filler will totally help with the wind, lol.
~Donovon

Richardlss · Post by **Richardlss** » 07 Jan 2010 13:48

Yea those 2 bags arent for kicking if you ask me, i've got 2 kiddies so thats who they are for... it just felt good to kick my own bag around! After I finish this 3rd one i'll sew closer to the edge... and see how they come out

Donovon · Post by **Donovon** » 09 Jan 2010 17:43

Check your PM box.

Richardlss · Post by **Richardlss** » 11 Jan 2010 03:20

PM sent back