I finally had half an afternoon spare yesterday to tackle a project, so I picked a small one. Unfortunately it was a very dark, stormy afternoon, so I had to photograph under electric lights.

I’ve been using the cardboard carrier for my rigid heddle loom since I first got it. While it’s held up really well, the handles were getting a bit worn and a few modifications I’d made to the loom meant it didn’t fit so well any more. I’d been meaning to make myself a carry bag.

After cutting a few canvasses off their frames and thinking about how they’d be great sewn up into tote bags, I couldn’t help reminding myself that I have more than enough tote bags already. Then I noticed the loom and bells went off in my head. There was one kind of bag I did need.

The canvas was wide enough to go around the carrier plus some, but was a little long, so I tore off strips from the bottom for the handles.

The canvas was rigid enough to retain folds, which really helped to establish the squareness of the bag.

I sewed the top hem down, then stuck the handles down with masking tape and sewed them down. The down side to the rigidity of the canvas was that it made the sewing awkward.

The handles were positioned them so they hid certain ‘details’.

Then I sewed the side seam and across the bottom, just up from the ends of the handles. Turning it right side out took quite a bit of wresting, including using my feet to push the base flat.

I pinched the corners into a square fold, leaving these little triangles at the bottom. So far the bag is rigid enough to keep this shape, but I’ll reinforce the bottom with a square of plastic or heavy card if I find something suitable.

I’m pretty happy with how it came out. Here’s the front:

And the back:

The loom fits perfectly and it seems robust enough to carry it and some tools and extra reeds.

I’ve also confirmed that there’s no way I want to sew a jacket out of a canvas. But I might make another bag. I have a couple more canvasses to play with, when I come up with a good use for it.