Hey everybody, it’s Rob from Man Sewing. And sniff, sniff, you smell that? Summer is
definitely in the air. And I think it’s time we make some really cool beach bags.
So I finished this awesome one here out of the vinyl pet screen or vinyl mesh. This one’s
for my wife, but I want to show you today how to make my more manly version which is
simply a color change. But let me walk you through the steps of the bag first so that
when I’m showing you how to do the parts and pieces, you understand what we’re doing.
Let’s call it four parts today. We are going to create a handle. And all of this is out
of the vinyl mesh because it’s completely waterproof, right? So, step one, we’re going
to do a handle. The second thing we’re going to do is we’re going to prepare the front
and technically the back of the bag. That’s really easy. Then we’re going to put in
the side panels and the bottom panel. And the last thing, we’re going to use our extra
little scrap piece to create this clever little handle and latch that when you lock that together,
you’ve got that super cool bag. Right, that should be awesome.
So what we’re going to use today is a couple of these pre-cuts, and this is fun because
we’re going to use almost every square inch of this stuff. A couple of these pre-cuts.
So they’re 18 inches wide by 36 inches wide of the pet screen. Come in awesome colors.
I said I’m doing a manly version so we’re pulling out the blue and we’re going to
use the green so my wife and I can match. I think it’s a great idea, right? So here’s
what happens as we unroll this stuff, and we’re getting there in a second. There’s
a little bit extra, let’s call it a selvedge. It’s a more densely woven portion of the,
of the mesh. And so this can be saved. This is what I did the little latch out of. So
don’t throw any of this away. Maybe you want to make a key loop or something like
that on your bag as well. So this was one of the entire rolls just like this. 18 inches
by 36, like I said. I cut that selvedge off. I’m saving it. And then all I had done was
I basically folded it in half and I cut it so that it would be roughly square. So these
are, I’m going to call them “18 by 18”. And of course, you could adjust them to any
size you wanted, right? That’s nice and easy. So with this, that’s the front and
the back. The pink portion, right, got it, easy? So now let’s do the green. And it’s
going to cut a little different. So I’m going to try to de-caffeinate here, slow down
a little bit for you.
So we take that off. And, like I said, there you can probably see that selvedge nice. And
when you’re cutting this mesh, let the roll work in your benefit, so I just flipped it
over so it’s not trying to unroll. And one of the things is when you’re cutting this
mesh, if you cut right along a line it doesn’t leave those little extra pieces. And sometimes
those extra little pieces can get at your fingers a little bit on the seam allowances.
So it’s just a way of making it a nice smooth cut. Ok, so that part’s cut off. Like I
said we need to save that for later. And now we’re going to actually take this and rotate
it. And we can cut this just like regular fabric. We can keep it folded. And I want
a four inch cut by 36 inches for the handle, ok? So I’m going to spin this around. It’s
a little awkward at first to be working with because it’s coming off of the rolls. And
you can certainly prep yourself the night before, put a couple weights on it or something
so it lays nice and flat. So here comes that four inch by 36 inch cut. We’ll cut the
rest of this in a minute. And this becomes the handle.
So for the handle, we’re going to do a triple fold. So I’m going to fold it in on itself
one time. And then I’m going to fold it in on itself a second time, like that. And
I’m not letting go. I’m going to go to the sewing machine and I’m going to run
a line of stitching down what is this raw edge, right? And before we get started even,
let’s remind you we’re using polyester thread today. Now polyester is a synthetic
thread versus cotton which is natural. So it’s going to last longer in the sun and
salt water which is very important to me. So presser is down. And I’m just going to
run a line of stitching down here. And then once I’m done with this stitching, I’m
going to turn around and do the other side just to kind of make it match. It’s not
a requirement but it helps it lay flat. Ok, just that easy, right? So we have a nice long
handle. And I really use all of this. 36 inches worth. So now we’re going to also set that
aside.
We’re going to bring back the rest of that green we had working for us. And we’re basically
going to just divide it in half. So let me see here, I know it’s going to be about
seven inches but I use my mark here, lined up on the mat so it is 14 so I’m pretty
correct there. So I’m going to drop this down. And I am trying to make sure my cut
stays nice and square. So I’m lining up my ruler along the fold and I’m double checking
my edges to make sure my mesh hasn’t shifted. This is not quilting so accuracy is not our
middle name in this project, right? I think Beach Bum is going to be a better middle name
for this project. Ok, I’m ready. My cutter. Happy. Slice. And now because we have 18 inch
squares and this was 36ish long, it’s not going all three sides of the way around, right?
So we’re going to use one as one side. Kind of think of it as an L shape. And then we’re
going to bring in the other from the other side. Let me show you how to do that, ok?
The first set of sewing is real easy. Treat it like a regular sewing project where we’re
going to do right sides together. And this is not a perfect square so I could feel that
I rotated it so my shorter side is a side. And my longer side is the bottom. And it’s
maybe an inch difference but maybe even less. And now here, I’m going to take about a
⅜ a little larger than a quarter inch seam allowance. And this first set of seams is
real simple. Now the fun thing about sewing through this mesh, though, the more layers
of mesh you add, it doesn’t really make it more complicated for the machine to sew
through because the needle is not landing in the fiber, it’s landing in the holes.
So we’re going to do three layers here in a second. Now I’m coming into my corner.
And at my corner, I’m just going to go ahead and basically manhandle this and rotate. It’s
really funny. Watch this. Needle is in my down position and I’m rotating. And I’m
kind of folding. If you’ve ever done mitred corners in quilting, it’s kind of that same,
get the bulk back and out of the way, concept. Really easy. Having that needle down helped
though, ok? Having the presser foot down really helps. And I got a machine that yells at me
if I don’t. That’s the best. Ok we’re coming out of the first seam. Let’s point
out a couple of things. There was that corner we pivoted around, right? That was really
easy. And then the other thing, you might be concerned that I didn’t make it to the
end, but that’s not going to matter because this second piece is literally going to lay
in here and come back around. And because of that, once again, we’re going to start
on the top edge, ok?
Ok, now as I said, each step starts to add a little bit of bulk which means you just
have to pay a little more attention to where things are at. So I made sure this bottom
part isn’t going to get caught in my side seam. And I’m going to come around first
to the bottom corner. And now this time, as I’m getting ready to set my needle down,
I’m going to set it back a little bit and I’m going to stand this up and bring this
so that it fits onto the bottom of the bag. And now I’ve taken the first green layer
and I’ve put it up into that corner where it belongs but didn’t get sewn and now I
can make a real nice corner here. I’m not so much worried about that mitred fold I did
earlier I said. I just need to get out of this corner. Ok, now once I’m out of this
corner, it’s business as usual again. That’s just one of those spots you want to take it
nice and slow. We’re building and constructing something that’s going to last for awhile
and have sand and dirt and rocks and wetsuits and boogie boards and all kinds of stuff possibly
in it. So I’m backstitching. I’m taking the extra time to make sure that the construction
itself is solid on the bag. Ok? That’s easy. This comes around now and you can basically
see that as I start to stand this up, I do have a raw edge in here and I also have this
raw edge over here. We are sewing this together like regular quilting: right sides together
so that means this is the outside of the bag which means this is going to be the raw edge
on the outside of the bag. So I am going to stitch that down in place, ok? I’m only
going to need to stitch the one side. And I don’t have to stitch much of it but I’m
going to get as close up into that corner as I possibly can.
Now what I’m going to do, making sure that my seams will be on the same side of my green.
I’m going to prepare to sew this into the machine over here just like this. I’m going
to now go all the way around the bag. I’ll slow down at the corners for you so you can
see how I’m going to manage that. But this is basically now going to be business as usual.
So let’s get rolling. Ok, I’m going to start slowing down as I approach the corner
again. And this time, I’m not going to leave my needle down. This is going to make my life
a lot easier if I do an extra backstitch here. Get that needle up and out of the way. I’m
going to pull it and prepare for my pivot. But I’m going to still keep sewing on the
same sides of the mesh. This mesh is really easy to work with and sew through. It makes
some of these weird, what would look like a cumbersome angle or a cumbersome pile of
fabric work really well. Alright, so the bag itself is constructed but before we’re ready
to go ahead and turn it right sides back out, I do like to roll the top edge over and stitch
around also because it just makes it a little bit easier to put my hand in.
Ok, we just finished that top edge. That was nice and easy. And we have our bag all constructed,
right? Time for our handle. We do want to turn this thing right side out. Ok? You can
kind of poke at the corners to keep them nice and crisp if you like. Just kind of work on
that a little bit. And I’ll tidy up the rest of this kind of on my own time. But isn’t
this going to be cool: his bag like the blue and the green. I love the way the colors come
together, right? Pretty awesome. So there that is. I am going to want my full working
space back on my machine if possible, ok?
And now my handle. Like I said, I was keeping it safe, but I did knock it onto the floor.
And I came down on my first bag here roughly four inches down and I actually stitched it
so I could like put a carabiner and put keys or something fun on there if I wanted to that
the keys don’t get lost in the sand. That is not fun. So I’m going to stitch the bottom
and the top of the handle on. And to come down four inches, I literally just come to
my marker: one, two, three, four. Kind of grab it right there. You might want to find
the center point in your bag. That looks about like center to me. I’m just kind of giving
it a finger press, ok? And lay that on here and I found it was easier to stitch the top
first so that it stays in place. There. And what I do here is I am going back and forth
about four times to really anchor that in. And I’ll do the same at the bottom. Forward,
backward, bounce over a grain.
Alright, just a quick recap here for my handles. I’ve done about a four inch distance and
I’ve three or four layers of stitching here and three or four layers of stitching there.
The loop that you could put something neat in and super strong, ok? So the bag itself
is actually completed. But I was encouraged to put something to keep it together and I
didn’t want to use a snap or velcro. Velcro and sand, no good. Snaps and saltwater over
time, not real good.
So like I said, I want to use almost every single inch of what we’ve got left. So why
don’t you take the piece you’ve got here and basically divide it in half. Let me get
this out of your way, I apologize. So that’s roughly half. Then we’re going to first
make the closure. So what I did is I took this and I folded it over twice. And I’m
going to stitch across the bottom so that this tab kind of sticks up like that. This
won’t need a ton of stitching. And I’m going to do the same thing on the other side
but I’m going to fold it down opposite just to make it look clean. I’ve only folded
that one time because it’s going to get stitched a second time onto the bag. Let’s
get our threads trimmed up. And of course if you think you’re going to be putting
lots of very large things in here you might want to make this a little bit bigger. But
not a real big deal. Or a little longer I should say to keep the opening. Now, let’s
go ahead and do this. We, again, want to find our center point. That looks about good. I’m
going to take this and I’m going to make sure that this flap, you notice I haven’t
let go, that this flap part will be on the up side. So I’m going to take this and I’m
going to lay it right back into my seam allowance. Bring it back to the machine. Let’s give
this a few rows of stitching because it’s going to take a little bit of pull on it later
on. When the wetsuit is all wet, they get a lot heavier so we want to make sure we’ve
got some strength on our bag, right? Get this out of here. We’ll do the real tidy job
later. Now this is going to fold over this way, just like that. So I just want to position
my strapping. I will fold the edges underneath but I certainly don’t need that much. So
again, just kind of that eyeball measuring that I love to do. That looks about right.
Take that and cut that. I see this is not beautiful so I’m going to cut that side
too. And now, just to make my life easy, I’m going to pinch it really good and I’m going
to pinch it really good. I’m going to line it up onto my bag. And I’m actually putting
it near the top seam so that I have a little bit of room in my strap flap. And I’m also
not going to lay it down super tight. So I’ve figured out where my first stitching goes.
This comes over to the machine here. Let’s see, how do we want to do this one. I’m
going to slide it in from the back. But then I’m going to sew it obviously going up the
front. There we go. And let’s do a couple of layers of stitching here too. Ok? And now
I can just slide this over. Don’t forget to fold that edge underneath, right? Stitching
it. One more layer. Alright, and that my friends at home is our fantastic beach bag out of
our vinyl pet screen, right? Is that super cool or what? It’s going to be a wonderful
summer for all of us, I hope. I’ll be on the road a bunch doing some great teaching
things. And my son is doing this awesome junior lifeguards program. So that’s just my reminder,
if you live anywhere near the water: river, lakes, ocean, please make sure your children
are water safe. And spend time enjoying your time outside with those kids. I might see
you on the road and if not, I’ll definitely see you here at Man Sewing.