Thrifted

Made from a recycled rice bag, a thrifted sweatshirt for lining, and new canvas on the sides. Features a pocket on the front and elastic on the back.

Clips, magnets, and string keep it "closed", albeit not well. Due to poor planning by not including enough material on the top to roll down, along with using weaker magnets than anticipated, it is almost always slightly open.

Challenges

As my second-ever sewing project (pants being the first), this one helped to refine general sewing practices and offered more exposure to pockets, zippers, and elastic.

Zippered pockets have been the most eye-opening item for how difficult they are to get correct. I also took the time to change out the thread multiple times for varying topstitch colors and used a couple of different stitch lengths and configurations throughout.

Lessons Learned

New skills picked up were creating button-esk holes manually (later realized my machine has specific settings for it...) and how to work with buckles and magnets. Troubleshooting machine complications has become more trivial with the experience, and re-threading is quickly becoming a breeze.

Next Steps

The next version will include more material on the top to roll down, one big magnet to temporarily close it when in use, offset opening tabs, and a rigid backing on the bottom with some weight to keep it upright when there are items in the front pocket.

Currently brainstorming ideas to incorporate 3D printing into the design (a nameplate, custom gear holders, etc.). Overall a fun and (relatively) quick project!