Gjesteinnlegg av forfatter og illustratør Viviane Schwarz

MAKE A FORAGING BAG

Here’s a pouch for collecting berries and other small edible things! It is made from a piece of a sturdy shopping bag, lined with umbrella fabric. It attaches to your belt, and if any berries get squished in it the juice won't leak,  and it's easy to clean.

Here are the instructions - I kept them simple, only straight stitch on a sewing machine.

If you can sew a bit, you can make your own easily, if you can sew well you can improve on the basic design.

You need a sturdy shopping bag or ikea bag for the outside, and the fabric of a broken umbrella or tent or one of those shopping bags made from that kind of stuff, a sewing machine and some sturdy cord (that's all things that wash up on the beach a lot I guess, if you want to be maximum thrifty).

If you are good at pinning fabric for sewing, use pins. If not, use masking tape instead (I had a roll of washi tape to hand, plain masking tape is fine of course!)

Some scissors, sewing thread, a button, an iron for pressing down the folds.

OK let's go!

1: Preparing the Outer

Cut off the handle, you'll need that later (to make belt loops), take a paperback novel (just because that's a good size) and draw around it twice. Cut out with seam allowance. 

The bag will be as big as the book, so choose a book that suits you

2: Preparing the belt loops

Cut the handle on half, tape it on like this. Last chance to decide which side is the front side!

3: Checking that your belt actually fits

Now you want to check that it fits the belt you want to wear it on, and reposition as needed. Leave a bit of space at the top above the belt!!! You'll need it later! - Give the belt a bit of wiggle room as well.

4: Sewing on the belt loops.

Run a seam across the top and one across the bottom, use the edge of the tape as a guide. 

You can use the edge of the tape as a guide to sew along.

Peel it off, that's the belt loops finished. 

5: Sewing up the outer pouch.

Fold it in half along the line you drew, crease it well, line the top up neatly, tape it all together in a few places (or pin it if you prefer, but I'm making these instructions for beginners who might not have pins around/don't know how to pin perhaps). 

Sew up the sides.

Trim the excess a little, take the tape off (you can leave it on I guess, it might come off in the wash though and rattle around later).

Snip snip! Make it neat now, it’ll help you later when the whole thing needs putting together.

Turn inside out. 

That's the outside of the pouch done! You could already use it like that if you just want an open pocket on your belt.

But let's add a liner! And a cord to tie it with. 

6: Preparing the fabric for the liner.

You'll need two parts for the liner.

I found this at a bus stop, stripped it  and washed it.

Any pencil will do if you can see the lines.

Get your book back it to measure around. Maybe you noticed I used a felt tip pen earlier and now there's black smudges EVERYWHERE. I'll use a pencil this time... 

Put the NICE SIDE UP. That’s the side you’ll draw on.

So you draw around the book again.

But the liner needs to be longer than the outer bag! So you turn the book sideways and make the rectangle THAT MUCH TALLER!

The size of the liner will be the height PLUS the width of the book! This is important. Measure carefully. 

Use the book to help you draw the top of that neat long rectangle.

“BUT VIV IT GOES OVER THE SEEEAMS IS BE MESSYYYY"

It will be fine. Just draw across any seams. You won't even notice them later. Relax. 

7: Cutting the liner

Cut out that rectangle, and a second one like it, WITH SEAM ALLOWANCE. Don't cut it exactly on the line or it won't fit later.

There, that's the material for the liner. Phew. 

SEAM ALLOWANCE!!!!!!!!

so helpful

8: Preparing and sewing up the liner.

Now you put them together, so THE PRETTY SIDE IS ON THE INSIDE.

Tack the two halves together with tape. (Or pin them, if you have pins and prefer that.) 

Sew up that bag. Take off that tape. Woohoo! 

9: Folding down the liner.

So now the liner is a lot longer than the outer. Huh?

That's right! You need the extra length so you can close it up with a drawstring later. Let's make that happen. (Have a cup of tea, sewing gets more fiddly now.) 

First, you want to trim this down neatly. It'll be much more difficult else.  

Now turn down the liner until the top of it is just underneath the top of the outer bag... Like in these photos... Except... 

>>>I ROLLED IT DOWN TOO FAR. THIS IS A MISTAKE. SEE NEXT PICTURE FOR CORRECTION.<<< 

THIS IS WRONG! SORRY!!!!

I should've lined it up with the UPPER seam of those two, or if you don't have a seam there, a few millimeter down from the top. (It's not a massive deal but the liner won't reach the bottom of the bag else.) IT SHOULD ONLY GO TO THE ORANGE LINE THERE! THE ONE THAT SAYS YES!

10: Sewing the top of the liner

Right. Once you've got over this brief confusion, tape the edge down neatly all around. Line up the seams. That's why trimming them down was a good idea.

Now put it on the machine and sew all around.

(This is where some of you find they're sewing machine is too big and... Then you'll have to do this by hand.) 

Off with the tape! Nice job.

11: Pressing the liner to prepare for final sewing

Get your iron.

Set it to synthetic, dampen the liner and gently iron it flat.

>>>IF YOU IRON THIS FABRIC HOT IT WILL MELT! <<<

You can't skip the ironing. My gran will come back from the dead and get you. Seriously. This needs flattening down or it'll be a mayhem shortly. 

Turn it inside out again. 

Fold the top down. I'm doing width of a finger here but... My hand is super small so... use your little finger. (I would go measure but the cat is sitting on my lap now, also it'll be fine. If you wahr a measurement, let's say... An inch.)

IRON IT FLAT!!! 

12: Finishing the Liner

Back on the sewing machine!

Tape, pin or tack it down again before sewing (unlike me who is risking it all coming out totally wonky here because it's dinner time and I'm getting sloppy, but I was lucky and it worked)

Sew close to the edge, this will be the tunnel for the cord. 

12B: OPTIONAL STEP

Do you hate things getting stuck in corners of bags? Follow these pictures to sew two little ears on the liner (gosh I accidentally made them massive, they could be wayyyyy smaller). That'll get rid of the inside corners. 

13: Combining inner and outer pouch.

Liner goes into outer pouch! AT LAST!

Line up the edge of the liner fabric so it's close to the top of the bag. TAPE IT IN SUPER NEATLY ALL AROUND. Check. Check again. Ask the cat to check. Get it straight. 

Now sew the FINAL SEAM!

All around, stitching the liner into the outer. Sew across the belt loops. (That's why the belt didn't go right at the top, see?)

Remove tape.

There you go. You made it. You made it. 

14: The cord for closure

Now we just need to pull a cord through the tunnel on top. Carefully open the seams to get in there... 

... And now pull through the cord.

You can use a safety pin (Google it if you haven't done that before) or a crochet hook if you got one.

I got a special tool for it and I'm tired and so I'll use it. 

Just needs a button or a bead now that's just the right kind of thing... With a hole or holes that are just the right size to have a bit of friction when you close the pouch... 

FINISHED! 

To wash this after collecting berries, it's usually enough to pull the liner out, rinse and dry.

it can also go in the washing machine, which will soften it and possibly fade the colours a bit so handwash if you're not sure.

Have fun foraging, I hope you find good things.

Viv