So I was sitting there last year, in the mountain of crumpled paper left by Christmas morning, and felt horrible at all the waste. My internal conversation went something like this:

For next year, I should probably make some gift bags out of fabric that would be reusable.

Agreed, Smeagol. Agreed.

And then I got caught up in keeping the One Ring from being tossed into the fires of Mt. Doom, so I only remembered only a few weeks ago I was going to do this. Good thing they’re quick work. They’re especially quick if you make patterns and go into an assembly-line sort of production, making a bunch all at once.

Prep work:

Pre-wash and iron your fabric. Don’t be like me. If there are wrinkles in your fabric, it’ll be more difficult to make sure all your pieces are exactly the right size, so they match up.

Decide how big your bags need to be. It’ll depend on all sorts of things, including whether you have a specific gift in mind, or whether you just want to make a generic bag. Remember, these are intended to be reusable, so I recommend aiming towards at least big enough for a dvd case or a hardback novel. And also remember that you need to have enough fabric at the top to gather and tie with a ribbon. I made this one a random size, but I made others with about 1″ tolerance around the size of the gift. Before Christmas and Hanukkah, I’m probably going to be make a few even larger ones.

I decided to piece together the fronts for two reasons: I didn’t have enough of one of the fabrics I liked to make a bag by itself, and I thought it needed some visual interest. So putting a stripe of a different fabric down the centre solves both of those problems. You don’t have to piece bits together, if you don’t want to. You could use just single pieces. Or you could piece them together differently. Have fun with it. The main point is to have the finished pieces be the right size for your bag.

This one in the pictures:
middle section: 3.25″ wide, 14″ long
side sections: 4.5″ wide, 14″ long

Measure well. I like to use a steel cork-backed ruler and a quilting square. In fact, draw and cut yourself some patterns if you’re going to be making more than one. (Cereal boxes work well, I’ve found, or some other thinnish cardboard.) If you make your patterns accurately, it will make marking and cutting your fabric a cinch. And, of course, speed up production.

fabric ready for cutting

Everybody seems to have favourite tools for marking their fabric; I like a silver sharpie. But in the past I’ve used tailor’s chalk or pens with invisible ink intended for this purpose. Mark and cut out your fabric pieces all at once, for both side A and side B.

Step 1:
If you’re piecing stuff together, do all that first. Pin the pieces together, then sew them, then iron the seams open. Make sure all your finished sides are the same size. When you’re done, you should have two fronts and two backs.

sewn and pressed open seams

Step 2:
Take the front and back for side A, pin them right sides together, and sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Do the same for side B.

both of the separate, assembled, gift bags

Clip the corners. (This eliminates bulk in the corners once they’re rightside-out.

clip the corners

Step 3:
Turn side B rightside-out. Put it in the other bag, so that both of the right sides are facing together.

like this, see?

Pin both side A and side B together at the top, matching up any and all seams.
Sew around the top with a 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving about 2 1/2″ or so unsewn. Then turn the whole thing right side out, pushing both sides through that unsewn gap. It should then look like one big rectangle, divided down the centre into two different patterns.

right side out bags, attached at the mouth. Er.

Step 4:
Push side B into side A so that side B becomes the lining for side A. Flatten down and iron the edge, giving it a nice, sharp, crease along the top seam. Tuck in the edges of the fabric where the gap was, and iron that part very well.

edge of bag, ironed.

Using a scant 1/8″ seam allowance (I basically line up the edge of the seam along the right side of the foot), sew a seam along the top of the bag to hold that freshly-ironed crease in place. Be sure to keep the edges of the fabric from the unsewn gap tucked in nicely, so they get held in by that seam and the gap is mostly camouflaged. In terms of thread colour, you can use two different thread colours if you like. Just have the bobbin thread match the colour of the fabric facing down, and the spool thread match the colour of the fabric facing up. Trim any dangling threads, and you’re done!

finished reusable, reversible, gift bag

The main batch of bags needed depth. I could have just made bags as I did above, just large enough to compensate for the depth of the gift, but I decided to make the bags three dimensional instead. So I needed sides and a bottom.

How to make a bag with depth:

1) Cut pieces of fabric as long as the sides of the front pieces, and as wide as you want the bag. These are the sides.
Cut another piece as wide as you want the bag, and as long as the bottom of the front pieces.

2) After step 1 above…
Sew the sides to the front and the back, and press the seams open. You should have what amounts to a cylinder of fabric.

3) The bottom is the tricksy bit. Tricksy like hobbitses: Pin one side of the bottom to the bottom of the back, right sides together, as in the illustration below. Look at the way the corners are folded back, away from the centre line of the bag, and the way the side of the bottom piece lines up with them. I suggest putting a pin right on that seam, marking its location. Pin all the way down the long side to the other corner, making sure that if you’ve pieced the front and/or back that you pin open the middle seams. Fold the other corner back the same way you did the first one, and put a pin along that seam to mark it. Sew, using a 1/4″ seam allowance, starting and stopping where you marked the seams.
Do the same thing on the other long side of the bottom.
You should now have both long sides of the bottom piece sewn on.

4) Turn the whole thing sideways. Line the side of the bottom piece up with the bottom of the side piece. (Check the illustration.) Pull the front piece and the back piece out at nearly-45-degree angles, line up the seams that run along the bottom of the front piece and the bottom of the back piece with the seams that run along the sides. Everything should square up nicely at this point. Pin everything in place and sew another 1/4″-seam-allowanced line from seam to seam.
Flip the bag around and do the same thing on the other side.
When you’re done, you should have a bag with sides and a bottom.

For this project, the bag needs a lining, so you’ll have to do all that again with the other fabric to make another bag, then join up with the instructions above at step 3.

However, if no lining is needed, feel free to finish off the raw edges in the manner of your choosing and enjoy your new bag.

Tutorial: Reusable, reversible, gift bags is a post from: Thirteen Scissors

Nalbinding! Woollen socks from 250-420 AD Egypt!

I can’t explain how much these make me want to find the wooden nalbinding needle I have somewhere around here and remind myself how to do it. I would LOVE these socks.

If I do make them, I’ll write up a post about the process.

There’s this layered look (seemingly mostly popular in Japan) for men’s clothing that I’m digging more than I can say. Some of these coats make my fingers itch to make some patterns and get sewing.

JRR Tolkien’s drawings, sketches, and watercolours from when he first produced The Hobbit. I mean. Really.

Inspiration: Nalbinding, Jackets, and Tolkien is a post from: Thirteen Scissors

• I adore props recreation. This is a documentation of an amazing builder as he makes (with custom fabrication of parts!) a copy of Luke’s lightsaber from “A New Hope”. The attention to detail is incredible. It makes me really, really, wish I had a good metal shop, a lathe, and a way to create in brass things with custom threading, like bolts and screws.

• Another props page, this time exploring the wonders of MDF. Someone has made an M8 Avenger Assault Rifle from the video game Mass Effect using mostly stuff accrued from around his/her shop. It’s gorgeous. And makes me want to go out and make something with carved MDF.

• Here we have something actually doable for the average creator. Learn to make a stand-alone (read: not plugged into the wall) nightlight with a chosen constellation in it. If you’ve ever wanted an intro project to get going in the wacky world of LEDs or working with resin, this might be a great one. I think it might make a good holiday present, too.

• On the supplies front, check out Tapeswell’s awesome decorative packing tape. I’d love to have a field day decorating stuff with that. The site also sells cool mailing labels, too.

• And last but not least, some pretty. Check out the “Lowbrow Tarot”, an artistic collaboration of 22 gorgeous and eclectically-styled images. Whatever you think about tarot itself, you have to admit that these images are beautiful to look at, rich, and often a bit dark.

Got any cool links to share with the class? Things to make, buy, or be inspired by?

Props, Packing Tape, and Pretty. is a post from: Thirteen Scissors

Sometimes you can just bang your head against a wall over and over again, trying to get closer to some perceived goal.

And sometimes you can just…stop.

Today, I decided to do the latter.

To back up a bit:
I’ve been traveling for about five weeks in WV and PA, seeing my chosen family, doing some pottery, and picking up some stuff I had in storage. Well, okay, a lot of stuff I had in storage. A lot. I got back a week ago, and promptly filled my living room and half my studio with crap to sort, clean, put away, or dispose of. It’s a massive job, and while I’m slowly taking care of it, my house is made of chaos.

I don’t like chaos, especially when I have work to do. Which, of course, I do.

See, I’ve got this big, important, and—most importantly—timely dance/puppetry piece to work on, and all this chaos is doing my head in. But since the project is timely, I can’t just do the logical thing and set it aside until I’ve cleaned up the abode*. I just sort of have to power through it, and get the project done. It’s not exactly the setting most conducive to my creative process.

The plan had been to use a form of papercraft to make one mask and three rod puppet heads, so that’s what I worked on yesterday and today. Well, that’s what I’ve been trying to do, at least, and it’s been the aforementioned banging-head-against-wall. This evening, it occurred to me to stop banging my head, and (to torture the metaphor a little) find myself a window.

My husband has taught me over the past few years that when I start playing the head-wall-bangy game the best thing for me to do is to stop and play some sort of easy, mindless, video game. Seriously. I never would pegged myself for a gamer, but few things turn off that part of my brain responsible for overthinking, recriminations, and drama like picking up a fantasy RPG video game and smashing small orcs**. I did that last night, and I was magically bestowed with enough perspective to think of a different way to attack the papercraft thing. And then I had to do it again this afternoon after that didn’t work either, and and and…you know what? I’m deciding to tactically quit.

The thing is, I’m not awesome at papercraft. I love the way it looks, and I can work the shapes out in my head, but somewhere between my head and my hands communication breaks down and things don’t always come out well. It’s especially frustrating to me, since I’m lucky enough to not often have that head/hands problem. But I also know I’m really good at sculpting with leather. So, that’s what I’m gonna do. I’ll do a mix of leather-sculpting and papercraft, and I’ll make some cool faces, and then I can move on to sorting five years of crap and reclaiming my studio.***

I guess what I’m saying is two-fold:
Know how to manipulate your creative brain to best effect. For me, I know that when I’m stuck I really need to walk away from the problem and fire up a game. And since more often than not I feel ten times better than I did before, and even more often than that my brain has solved the problem without me, it doesn’t count as slacking. It counts as knowing how your brain works, and getting the most out of it. It’s simply knowing how to use a tool.
And,
Know when to stop banging your head against the wall. It sounds so obvious, but often we’re told that we have to just keep trying, no matter. “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.” We’re told quitting is bad. We’re told that if we quit we’re weak, or less than. Horse hockey.**** There’s another, better, aphorism that went around the stage shop when I was doing theatrical set design: “Try smarter, not harder.” I like that one so much more. It occurred to me today that I was just trying harder, making myself do something I wasn’t awesome at (when I don’t have the time to muck about with it), when what I really should be doing is trying smarter, using something I’m good at to solve the problem.

You know, sometimes banging your head against the wall is really awesome. Because it feels so nice when you stop.

*and, frankly, recuperated from being gone over a month. I need a vacation after that trip.
**or goblins. Or bats. Or—if I’m playing Civ Rev—the Aztecs.
*** And possibly sitting the hell down and staring at a wall for three days. I’m telling you; traveling for that long, being away from your new husband, is effing exhausting.
****J’adore, Colonel Sherman T. Potter.

It’s nice to quit. Sometimes. is a post from: Thirteen Scissors

Bran,
I’ve been thinking about making papier-mâché rams horns to wear on my head at festivals and such. Any idea how I can do that, without having a hat or anything obvious to hold them on?
Signed,
A Capricorn

Hey Cappy.

Well, I think there are two things to be conquered here. First off, you’re gonna need to construct the horns so that they are the right weight, and secondly, you need to problem solve to figure out the method of attachment. I think the latter will inform the former.

My advice? I think your best bet is to construct a wire frame that will sit upon your head. I’d use a combination of armature wire and something a little less malleable, like unbent wire hangers. Make the main part (might I suggest around the hemisphere of your cranium, including under your occipital ridge and then once over the top) out of the hangers so that you have sturdiness and a solid grip to the shape of your head. Use the armature to fill out the parts on the sides that keep unwanted movement to a minimum. (Armature wire is lightweight, so it will give you good flexibility, and it’s easy to shape, but it really won’t grab onto your head the way a coat hanger or other sturdy wire will.)

With a wire framework over the top and around the sides of your head, you’re gonna want just a little bit of weight pulling it down to keep it seated on your skull, and that’s where the horns’ weight comes in. They should be light enough not to be pulled too much one way or the other by the momentum of your head’s movement, but not so light that they won’t provide a little downward force. This might take a little trial and error, so I’d build for lightness by making the horns out of papier-mâché or plastered paper, and add weight as needed with clay or something that won’t rattle around too much. As a side note, I’d bet you’d have a lot more luck if you weight them more on the side towards your head and less towards the ends. I’m just saying.

Once your framework is settled and your horns are made, weighted correctly, and painted, go on and hide the wire with false hair. It’ll look all windswept and wild and awesome, and a wireframe is way easier to hide than a big ol’ hat.

Good luck!

It’s so stimulating being your hat. is a post from: Thirteen Scissors

See, there’s this theme I’d like. It’s real purty. Also, it’s more what I had envisioned for this site. Buying it would save me quite a few hours I could definitely use for making puppets, doing some leatherworking, or writing a tutorial, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few years it’s that sometimes it’s okay to let someone else do the work for you if it makes your days more efficient.*

The key is, it has ad space. So, I’m really hoping there are a few of you out there who would like to buy some small (124×124) ads, and help me towards my goal of affording that purty new wordpress theme. If you don’t have anything to advertise, but would still like to help out, don’t forget: I make stuff. All sorts of stuff. If you have a project you want help with, or want to hire me to make something for you, that can certainly be done.

Whaddaya say? Help a crafty new blog out?

*Yeah, that lesson only took thirty years…

ISO… is a post from: Thirteen Scissors

So here we are, with Thirteen Scissors. We’ve got a name and a place and goal, and that’s enough to be getting on with.

All I need now from you all are some questions, some answers, some interaction. What are you guys making these days? What cool stuff have you seen being made in real life, or posted on the web? What do you most want to learn to make next?

(My answers: Puppets, rings, and chasing/repoussé. In that order.)

The key to creating something new is just to start it. is a post from: Thirteen Scissors