Oh Lucky Day!!! My friend Mike was at The ReUse Warehouse in Durham and called to let me know that they had a great stock of burlap fertilizer bags that had been pulled from an old tobacco barn. Oh! By the way if you love reclaimed wood and metal check out Mike's website http://www.mikedulude.com/
So I went down there and got covered in all kinds of filth picking out the best bags. They looked a little rough so I knew i'd have to run them through the washer. Bandit wasn't wild about giving up the bags to the washing machine...and frankly, my dryer wasn't wild about it either.
So I went down there and got covered in all kinds of filth picking out the best bags. They looked a little rough so I knew i'd have to run them through the washer. Bandit wasn't wild about giving up the bags to the washing machine...and frankly, my dryer wasn't wild about it either.
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Having to clean out the lint tray every five minutes was a labor of love people... not to mention the ironing... oh the ironing.. But these bags are worth it!
Since the bags are pretty old I had to really think about which parts I would be able to use. I love that "Camp's" wording but it was too far gone. Little holes are easy to handle with some more burlap and ModPodge though. Of course I zoomed right in on that eagle to be on the flap of my bag. Sweet!
One thing that was super cool about this bag is that this company, Camp's Chemical Corporation, is still in business in Roxboro, NC (and has been for 80 years). I love seeing history in textiles.
I wanted to be sure the bag would be strong despite it's age, so I had to use something to give it some stability. Sewing purists would probably go for interfacing, but I wanted this thing strong. I mean, super duper, "10 lbs of forgotten change in the bottom of your bag and your dog on top" strong. So I actually attached it to some remnant vinyl that I had. This worked out great for this bag too since I made it with pleats and it held them nicely.
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Sometimes the hardest decision I have to make in designing a bag is choosing the lining material. I love it when someone opens a bag up and says "OOOOOOOOH!" I do get a little funky with those fabrics sometimes. But this bag needed something a little more subdued, I think. You wouldn't want to open this piece of history and then see some funky new fabric inside. So I went with a basic denim. I did of course put a little pop in the pockets though :) Can't keep the funky completely out of the bag!
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