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From Sails to Bags!

Ever look at a sail and wondered how it is turned into a bag? Here’s process I use to make my lovely bags.

127 square metre sail

When I collect a sail, I usually trim it into smaller pieces so it is more manageable (especially when they are as big as this one!) and I am unable to use some parts of the sail. This particular sail was huge so I definitely needed to make it smaller.

Cutting the Sail

Once I have trimmed the sail, I use a template to cut the bag shapes. It’s much easier to cut a few bags at a time and the more space I have the better (the garden is the best cutting room!)

Washing the sail

All the sails are washed to remove any excess dirt and sea salt, they are sometimes washed when the sail is still in one piece or sometimes once they have been cut. As this sail was so large it was easier to wash once cut.

Sewing

Now it’s the easy part – sewing. Each bag has a double sewn edge which prevents any fraying of the material.

Making Handles

For this particular bag the handles are also made from sails, each one is sewn with a zig zag stitch to give it some character.

Sewing the Handles

The final stage of making the bag is to sew on the handles, they are secured with a box stitch with criss cross stitching.

Finished

The finished bag! Looks great and is such a useful item to use when popping to the shops and it’s all upcycled!

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