02.07.2013. Finally finished sewing up the bag. I was in a funk about how my sewing machine would handle the fabric, but it wasn’t too bad in the end. I got slightly confused about the pocket. I was aiming for it to be inside, but it’s on the other side of the seams, so it has to be outside. Unless you like to see the seams.

I haven’t decided yet if I want to line it. It’s sturdy, but given the bulkiness of the yarn, there are gaps between the warp and weft. So don’t put any sharp and thin objects in it.

17.06.2013. I liked the ingenuity of the bag shown on Doni’s Delis blog, and while that can be made with any sort of fabric (regular, crocheted, knitted), weavers seem to like it to show off their woven fabric.

So this is to bust my stash of why-did-I-buy-it acrylic. The blue is the final end of a shipload of yarn Jaishree gave me a few years ago, which went into several bags but seemed unending. The black was extremely ill-advised, forming part of a black/white stash I bought to make a baby blanket with, which never got finished because I had the bright idea of making in stripes, which meant lots of ends to weave, which meant I gave up very shortly after beginning. One of the lighter browns and the darker brown are similar yarn, which I don’t remember when and where I acquired it, and the other lighter brown was from a RAK here on Rav, which I requested when I didn’t know better. Being foreign, it squeaks. (Local acrylics usually don’t squeak.)

The green is a really really horrible yarn I bought in Visakhapatnam (over 7 years ago now). So far the best use of it has been in a “magic potholder” shape as a dish scrubber.

With this pedigree, let us see how the fabric ends up, and how the bag works out.

24.06.13. Got the fabric off the loom and washed and dried. Shrank by about 3”. Made a longer length than I was warping for (101” vs 90”, how’s that for overachievement?), but naturally given the bulkiness of the warp and weft, the weave isn’t very dense. I might have to line this.

The strap does not seem very stretchy, but since it might be itchy, I ought to line the strap as well. Do I have the fabric? I probably do. And I suppose it’s better to line it first and then sew, because sewing lining after the bag is shaped might be tricky.

With the extra length, I think I will make the pocket as well, on the inside. And this time try sewing through two layers and flattening the seam rather than trying to zigzag over the edges side by side.

Warp was ends of odd and scratchy acrylic in various colours as I found them in my acrylic box, almost the entire width of the heddle, except I missed a slot in the centre. I think I warped a 106” length.
Weft was black acrylic with a halo that makes it tough to unknit or frog in a crochet fabric. It kind of brought unity to all the colours.

Two strands of both warp and weft.