Wet Bags

I take my girls swimming every week. Anna has been having lessons for a couple of years now and Lucy has just started. Lucy wears an aqua nappy and last week we had just got out of the pool and the worst happened. After quick dash to the change rooms I realised that what I needed in that moment was a wet bag to shove the dirty swimmers into so I could deal with it when I get home when I was no longer in public! 

I went straight home and made a couple that evening, in case we have another unfortunate wet and messy incident. And I liked them so much that I decided to make some for my shop.

I use Mexican Oilcloth, for two reasons. Firstly, because I love the bright loud colours and prints, and secondly, it is waterproof so you can stash wet or dirty items in the pouch, and then just give it a rinse afterwards and it's as good as new. Very eco-friendly!

I made these with parents in mind, for wet and soiled modern cloth nappies (diapers), burp cloths and bibs, wet clothes after toddler accidents, and wet swimsuits. They are really handy when you are out and about, and a nice alternative to putting items in a plastic bag.

They have been popular in the first few days I've had them listed so I've just added some more, including my personal favourite - this gorgeous silver cherry one:

You can find them in my shop here. I have already made a custom sized wet bag for one customer so if you are after a particular size let me know!

Oilcloth Peg Bag - Tutorial

This project was not one I have been dreaming of doing...it was done purely out of necessity! That said, it is nice that when I need something boring like a peg bag, I have the skills to make it - and make it look good - rather than have to go and buy it.

How great is the strawberry print? My old peg bag was looking very sad, hanging by a thread and ready to fall apart with the next gust of wind.

So I decided I would make one, and the design is very simple but I had to think a little bit about the materials. My peg bag lives permanently on the line outside so it is subject to all weather conditions. In Melbourne throughout the year it ranges from 0 - 45 degrees celcius, and we get a fair bit of rain. It appeared that the area of the calico peg bag that wore out was the part around the top that came in contact with the wire so I needed something sturdier for the bag top.

Oilcloth was my choice, but I knew that the water would just pool inside it when it rained, so I decided to add a strip of calico to the bottom of the bag for the water to soak into and drain out or evaporate.

If you plan to keep your peg bag indoors, you can omit adding the calico.

Here is how I made it-

You need:
two pieces of oilcloth, 22 x 30cm (8.5 x 12")
one piece of calico (or a cotton scrap), 14 x 24cm (5.5 x 9.5")
two wire coat hangers OR sturdy but pliable wire from a hardware store
wire cutters
sewing supplies and a denim needle (100/16)

Fold the calico strip in half length ways. With right sides together (the calico doesn't have a right side but the oilcloth will) sew to the short ends of the oilcloth. This forms the base of the peg bag. Oilcloth is quite a thick material and requires a sturdy needle, so I use a denim needle in my machine. It also requires firm guidance through the machine while stitching.

Exterior

 

Interior

 

Fold the other short oilcloth edges over about 2.5cm (1") to form a casing for the wire.

Stitch in place. I stitched them twice to make them extra secure.

With right sides together, stitch the sides of the bag up, but stop at the casing stitching. You need to leave the casings open for the wire to run through.

Turn it out and put it aside. Don't worry if the oilcloth appears creased. Oilcloth relaxes when it warms up and the creases come out naturally.

Next, take your coat hanger and cut it. You need most of the length, so just snip the hanger part off.

Now for the slightly tricky part - thread the wire through one side of the casing, then gently bend and manipulate it to thread through the other side.

Threading the wire through the second side took me a good 10-15 minutes, just to bend it gently and gain the rounded shape that I wanted for the top of the bag.

Snip off any excess wire and tuck the wire ends into the casing so they can't pop out. It doesn't have to be perfect, mine looked a bit like a dog's breakfast.

To finish, I used the existing wire hanging hook on my old peg bag and attached it to my new one. To create a hook, you can use the second coat hanger and snip of the base. Create loops around the bottom of the arms of the hanger and attach them to the wire that is visible between the casing of the bag.

Done! While dealing with the drudgery of laundry, we might as well have good looking accessories!

Oilcloth is a great material to sew with and really practical, especially for items or garments that can be wiped clean - place mats, table cloths, baby bibs, baby change mats. I have also used oilcloth to make some toiletries bags - you can see the tutorial here. You can buy oilcloth in the home dec area of the fabric store, or there is a wide range available online.

If you make a peg bag, or I just inspire you to make something from oilcloth, I'd love to see it! Snap a photo and tweet me, post it on my Facebook page, or add it to my Flickr pool!

Oilcloth Toiletries Bag - Tutorial

Another tutorial! I must admit, I've had this one on ice for a while because I hadn't got around to sorting all the photos out. I actually made and photographed this in early December, and I'm only getting around to posting it now! But I think you'll like it!

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Fun with oilcoth! Have you ever sewn with it? I love it because you can just wipe it clean - essential when you have kids around. We travelled to New Zealand last year for Christmas and just before we left I realised that I didn't have a toiletries bag for either of my girls. So I whipped these up. They are really easy.

You need -
- 2 rectangular pieces of oilcloth. Cut them to any size you require. Mine were approximately 30cm x 25cm. My prequisite was that I needed them to be able to fit an adult size toothbrush, and I went ahead from there.
- A 40cm zip (or larger or smaller depending on what size you want yours to be)
- Piece of ribbon for wrislet.
- Scissors, coordinating thread, sewing machine, paper clips.

Some oilcloth sewing tips - do not press it, the iron will melt it. Use your fingers to push seams out. If there are a lot of creases in it from being folded in a postage parcel, or folded at the store, just unfold it and leave it in the sun or a warm place for a couple of hours. Use a sturdy needle like a denim needle. Use paper clips instead of pins so you don't puncture the oilcloth. You can buy oilcloth in the Home Decorating section of your craft / fabric store (often on a roll with table cloth plastics) or you can buy it from loads of great stores on etsy. You can also go for a laminated cotton which is available in a great range of designer patterns.

Attach the zipper foot to your sewing machine. Place your first piece of oilcloth right sides down and line up with the upper part of the zip. Pins puncture holes in oilcloth, so use you paper clips to hold it in place.

Sew together.

Flip your oilcloth right side out and topstitch close to the zip for a nice finish. The right side of your oilcloth may stick to your sewing machine foot a little bit so you may have to help feed it through.

Complete the above steps for your second piece of oilcloth. You will end up with this:

Open your zip half way. This is important or once you have sewn it up you won't be able to turn it out!

If you want to add a little wristlet, fold a piece of ribbon in half and place it where you want it.

 

Then fold the bag so the right sides are together, and hold in place with paper clips. Sew around all three sides.

To get the box pouch look, box each corner. To do this, pinch the corners to form a triangle, having the seam come up the middle.

Sew across the triangle and trim.

Repeat for all other corners, making sure the length between the tip of the triangle and the seam are the same.

You will now have this:

Which you will turn inside out to have this:

Lovely! These pouches are quite soft and not overly sturdy in holding that boxed shape, which is fine for me because I just wanted something simple and waterproof that would fit in the girls' suitcases. If you want of sturdier finish you may want to consider lining it.

If you make one, I'd love to see it - share it with us at my flickr group!