How to Make a Fused Plastic Bag Purse Pattern
Most girls love getting a new purse, but there is no need to blow the budget on a trendy new bag. Dip into your recycling bin to create a bold, graphic purse using plastic bags that will even be water resistant. Etsy Labs advises fusing layers of bags together between paper with your household iron to create a thin, flexible material you can machine sew like any other fabric. Design a purse pattern that uses this fused plastic to its best advantage.
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Things You'll Need
- 12 to 16 plastic bags
- Freezer paper
- Iron
- Ironing board
- Measuring tape
- Brown craft paper or paper bags
- Scissors
- Pins
- Recycled embellishments, such as poptops, old buttons
Instructions
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1
Measure your sheets of fused plastic.The size of your plastic sheets will determine the size of your purse. Your purse, or panels for your purse, can't be any wider or longer than the dimensions of your fused plastic material.
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2
Decide which portion of the plastic's design you want to spotlight in your purse pattern. Bags often feature colorful lettering or logos you may want to place in a prominent place like the front flap, along the strap or around the upper edge of the purse's opening.
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Select a style of purse that works well with your design, and examine how the purse is put together and the number of seams and panels. A simple clutch might be a rectangle folded in thirds--the first two sewn along the edges with the last third serving as a flap. Other bags might have separate side panels, a flap, exterior pockets or a lining. Consider closure and strap styles as well.
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Measure a purse to get a better idea of how to size your pattern. Make a note of the length and width of the bag, the measurements of panels that add depth to the bottom and sides of the purse, as well as the length of any straps.
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5
Sketch out a design for each side of the bag in pencil on graph paper, including all details and approximate measurements. Use the graph paper's squares to help make the sketches to scale, with four squares equal to 1 square inch.
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Include embellishments on your sketch, such as flowers made from buttons and fused plastic shapes, fabric appliques or details made from bottle caps or aluminum can pop tops.
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7
Transfer your design onto brown craft paper to create your full-size pattern pieces. Add 1/2 inch to all measurements to account for a standard 1/4-inch seam allowance on each side sewn. Since fused plastic does not fray, you do not need to fold over or finish edges or seams.
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Cut out your pattern pieces, and pin them together to make sure they fit properly. Make any alterations necessary.
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Tips & Warnings
Reinforce the bottom of your bag and the area where straps attach with an extra layer or two of fused plastic.
If you are making a shoulder strap from fused plastic, use a double layer of finished fused plastic, and stitch several times up and down the entire length of the strip to add strength before attaching.
Fuse plastic in a ventilated area.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit recyclement image by NJ from Fotolia.com
