The Loom Carrier, self drafted

The loom carrier is complete! I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this project. The drafting, the construction, the always there frustrations, all of it was great fun and I am really pleased with the results and it looks like it will work IRL.

Pattern:
This was self designed and drafted. I started by thinking about what I would need to make my new  Mirrix loom easy to travel with. It has all sorts of parts that need to be kept track of.  I also had given both grandaughters bead looms for Christmas and we always work on crafts or sewing when we visit.  I wanted to be able to bring my loom with me so we could all weave some beads or fibers together. Let me tell you, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree here. They both LOVE to do this sort of thing and I am thrilled that they like to do it with their grandma. So a travelling bag was needed. I also plan to attend a two day seminar in March on making tapestry and bead jewelry so this will be great for carrying the loom to that fun event.

I started the design by getting out some graph paper and taping it to be big enough for the project. I then measured the loom and took a good look at the parts to see what was needed  to prevent them from getting lost. . I love that part of design, the problem solving part, so much fun. I knew the outside would be pretty straightforward but the inside was the working part of the project and needed a lot of attention for good function.

 

Here you can see each side of the inside lining.

I also made a well padded bag to hold the actual loom. As some one far more experienced pointed out to me, my warped loom could get it's warps all caught up in the other parts of the bag. The bag is two layers of thick quilt batting that is quilted to the inside lining of this bag. There is a drawstring at the top with a ribbon. It is well protected. Here you can see how it works in the  actual loom carrier.

Fabric:
This was definitely fabric that called out to be purchased. I am a huge fan of impressionist painting and Van Gogh's Starry Night clearly inspired the outside fabric. The inside is a knockoff of Monet's Iris Garden. Be still my heart!

The faux leather is the stuff I get from WalMart, the only thing I get from WM. I detest their fabric department. The wovens are total thread bare garbage knockoffs of all the licensed more quality fabrics found in quilt shops. Huge Difference! But I experimented with their faux leather a long time ago and I really like it. It's very sewable, and has held up well in other bags I've made. Like I said, the only thing I will buy from WM.

The Starry Night fabric is fused to fusible fleece and Peltex was used to make the bottom gusset and the bag sides "hard" and it worked. I gave directions on how I handled that in yesterday's post.

Construction:
Making this was pretty straightforward. There were details. I lined the pockets with flannel and added a little flannel band to the pocket intended for needles, the better to stick them on to travel.

There's a special pocket for my small scissors.

There are wide, large loops to hold the shedding device.

There are loops for holding fibers and zipper pockets on both sides for whatever other goodies need to travel.

I put all these details in the bag based on the very tiny amount I know about weaving with this loom. I know, just like in garments, that after a few uses I will have the "coulda, shouldas" and that's OK. I am a newbie with unbridled enthusiasm. What can I say? I will learn how  to do the next one better and with a more efficient layout. Maybe I'll find out I want outside pockets. Who knows? All I know is this project confirmed that I am so totally a process person. That's what I get off on. Sure, I love the end results when they are good and am sad when they are not so good, but the process? The process is almost always very good. A few more details:

Teh straps are stitched in an "X" to make them secure. The straps were topstitched before attaching to the bag and then topstitched again, in the same holes to secure them to the bag. 

A close up of the gusset zipper junction. 

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Blogging and Next Level Sewing will be a bit sporadic for a while. as we work on our "move". There is much to be done in the house before it hits the market and around here Spring comes fast and suddenly. 

My sewing room is COMPLETELY torn apart. Two of these bags hold fabric and two other bags, one not shown, hold about 200-300 patterns.  We are taking a drive tomorrow to donate these to an appreciative source. There is a lot more chucking to be done before it is all done.  I soooo don't want to move this stuff. There is always more fabric and patterns to buy and tomorrow's another day! How would you draw the line on what patterns to keep and which to donate?