Project Snap Bags

Another bit of sewing I did this weekend. A couple of snap bags. I haven't made snap bags in forever. A look via my blog search bar (web page - not available on mobile devices) reveals it was spring of 2014.
I was always fond of the dinosaur snap bag that I made for my nephew.


I was trolling the net looking for a project to make (for a certain purpose coming up) and I came across these mesh zippered bags on the Sew4Home website. They used mesh and fold over elastic and were cute... then I read the first comment and made these snap bags instead of a zipper installation

This is a plastic mesh screen I bought at the now defunct RCT fabrics for a pet carrying duffle bag. Which I have yet to make. But I have all the supplies.

I changed up the tutorial to finish my top dfferently. Plus, I didn't have any colored elastic (?). I also only had a smidge of fold-over elastic (FOE) and finished the second with grosgrain ribbon folded in half instead.

These are 8" wide x 7.5" high. The mesh is opaque. You can kinda see what's inside.

Anyhoo - you want to know about the snap - don't you? It's an old tape measure cut into pieces.
When you bend it, it makes a snap sound.

My tape is about one inch shorter than the width. Up there at the top, I inserted the tape and made a pocket to keep it in place. When you open the bag, it SNAPS open. And closes back up. Ingenuous? They are. I just love the snap. There's a video below - turn your volume way up.

I'm a fidgeter. I just love opening and closing these bags repetitively - just to hear snap!

Back of project bag.

Miniature Irises - a month later than last year. Not as warm.

My construction notes for later: 8" wide. Cut mesh 12.5" long, fabric 2.75" wide. Thin batting, and sf-101 on two of the fabric pieces.

Snap Bag 2

I haven't sewn one of these Snap bags in a while. In fact, this one was mostly sewn already and just needed a pick-me-up hand stitch finish.

Embellished with tiny pom poms.

It "snaps" when you pull the top edges apart and snaps back together to keep your items inside secure. Its a fun "snap" sound too.

I need to make some more for my etsy shop.
 

Plastic Snaps

My package from China came yesterday.
Really fast - I ordered them less than two weeks ago.
I looked at Ebay and  my local fabric store.    I went for cheapest with free shipping.
And you get what you pay for...


For $15.98, I received the pliers with all sorts of extras.
10 colors of 10 15 colors of 10 snap sets each (total 100 sets 150 (!))
Screwdriver





These work just like metal snaps.
 I used my seam ripper to make a pinhole through my fabric.


Sandwich the button and the male end with the fabric between.

And squeeze the pliers together.

The screw at the top of the pliers already fell out - it's just sitting there loose.
I've already broken some of the snaps by squeezing too hard? They still work - it's the base that cracked.

For the most part, they worked fine. I wonder if a different brand of snap might hold up better. These will do the trick for this project.

I even managed to take a video of squeezing.





And these might have fallen into my ebay cart from the  same seller. 
Metal (aluminum --  lightweight) studs for purses or other things that need to be decorated.
Each bag was $2.50 with free shipping.
Too good to be true?

J-5 Luggage Compartment

This was my little contribution to sewing last weekend and this weekend.
I need tiny projects right now.

This is the luggage compartment behind the second seat in the J-5 airplane.
It measures 11" wide x 25" long x 12" deep.
Tiny.

The Stearman holds more!



This is where it sits at the back of the cockpit. See that canvas at center left in the photo?

The stearman fuselage is right behind the orange-painted J-5 frame.

That stick in center right is for the back seat pilot.
The stick is connected to control rods which run underneath the luggage compartment which control different flying surfaces at the tail area.


Last Sunday, I installed snaps and grommets to hold the compartment in it's place.
Semi-permanent installation.


Hubby didn't think it was secure enough. Today, I added a few more grommets.
This is heavy canvas so I did not need to add re-enforcing tape under the grommet.
If it was lighter weight fabric, I would.

Underneath the snaps, I did add reinforcement as the pulling exerts stress on any fabric. The grommets are for tie-straps which take on the stress.

Once you cut your tiny hole, insert the grommet and then place the 'washer' part over the center portion. The grommet tool has a recess part at the end that fits the rounded washer part. Place over the grommet and pound away with your hammer. I did it on a metal vise on the work bench. You can also place a scrap of wood underneath so as not to mar the brassy finish.

Here, you can see the saggy bottom. 
Easy fix: Cut a piece of foam core and cover with airplane fabric.

Hubby picked a brown-background and laughed.
We all know this is where the extra oil can and rags go.

Only he and I will know this fabric is there.
See that yellow biplane in the center? That's similar to  our Stearman biplane.

There you have it. A special place to hold airplane stuff.

When hubby was re-storing the Stearman, he ordered a luggage compartment from Dusters & Sprayers which is where you order Stearman parts.
Theirs was a  heavy canvas cut into a square with a zipper running diagonally down it. He paid a buttload of money for this square piece of canvas too.  Authentic Stearman Luggage compartment - haha. (I think it was over $140)That one was designed so that by the time you tie-stripped it to the fuselage, you created a 'basket' where anything you put into the luggage compartment rolled to the bottom center.

I took one look at the price and told hubby I would make one so we could at least get a travel suitcase in it. Our baggage weight for the Stearman is 60#, i.e. about 20 pounds per person plus space for several quarts of oil, rags, plus other plane stuff. I wanted to maximize the space.


I created a rectangular 'box' out of cordova canvas that ended up with multiple pockets around the side - map compartment, 7-up 2-liter bottle (Mixer), oil bottles secured with room for two travel suitcases in the rectangular part.
For the bottom, I used foam-core and covered it with the same navy blue cordova. When you lift the foam-core out, you can un-zip (diagonally!) and inspect the control rods and various other wires & cables.

{{The luggage compartment I made is similar to one now being sold on ebay for $380.  I utilized RCT fabrics in Portland and paid $120 for the Stearman cockpit cover materials (around $450 to buy that custom-made) and used some of the  same fabrics for the luggage compartment - less than $50.}}

So, sometimes, it is cheaper to sew your own!

For our little J-5, the canvas bag came with the project. Much easier to play with.
So cute with the airplane fabric bottom.

Sewing A Custom Order

A customer contacted me a few months ago (!) about my snap bags on Etsy. At the time, I was still knee-deep in too much overtime but I kept the option open.

When w-o-r-k let up a bit, I contacted her and she was still interested - in LSU colors (Louisiana Tigers).

Two snap bags.
These measure about 7" x 6". Nice make-up bag size.

Here's a better sense of the Purple and Old Gold. My camera deepened the purple quite a bit.
I spent more on the fabric order than what I will make on this order. Not so much on the LSU color fabrics but on some serious airplane fabrics that hijacked my shopping cart.

So -- custom orders help you buy more fabric - right?

Trimmed in purple gingham and old gold rickrack, these play nicely with the LSU colors without becoming overwhemingly PURPLE.

Snap Bags

Can't stop.
--Making these snappy purses.

These snap bags are so gratuitous to make.
   * Quick to execute
   * Scrap fabric usage
   * Snap Factor

When you Snap these open, there is a snappy sound which is akin to snapping your fingers loudly.

This is a fast bag I made to throw into a care package to my nephews.
The bag, filled with candy, is for my sis.  Let the nephews beg.

* Also - perfect opportunity to embellish with rick rack!