Crafty post - another pot cozy

A couple of years ago I made pot cozies for my 3 pots.  I also made circles that are used to both protect the pot bottoms when nested and as pot holders in the backcountry. We usually don't bring the largest pot and the bag that came with my pots is plenty big with the cozied pots in it. 

My pot cozies with pot "holders"

I used fabric designed for pot holders. The silver side can be exposed to heat so the white cotton fabric is on the outside. This fabric was very expensive, so I had to be careful when cutting it to ensure very little waste.

When I got the idea to do this, I had seen a couple of online sets of pot cozies that were made out of material you'd get at Home Depot, such as a metal/plastic type of wrap. I prefer to work with fabric and the pot cozies I have now have really stood up to repeated use very nicely.

Here's today's project:

Getting ready to sew!

LT only has 2 pots in his set, with 2 lids and a frypan. There are 3 circles in the picture above as 2 are for pot holders and one is going to be the bottom of the pot cozy I'm making for his bigger pot. He only wanted one cozy. I'm going to make a nylon bag with a drawstring to hold the set. I bought a couple of plastic toggles to tie off the drawstring with.

I've mentioned before that I'm not great with making my own patterns. I cut a pattern out in parchment paper first. My pots were completely cylindrical so no issue there. LT's pots are angled. Hmmmm. I marked a start point on the paper and as I rolled the pot along it on its side, I marked in pencil the shape. I tried the paper shape out against the circle for the bottom. It took a few tries to get the right size.

All sewn up!

I made the cozy a bit higher than the pot. It can be folded down if needed.

LT's full set of pots

And here's the final product in the drawstring bag.

Black nylon = doesn't show the dirt!

I'm going to make a confession here. I tried to extend the fabric from an angle to a straight, but ended up veering to one side. As the opening is just big enough to get everything in, I can't correct it. But it's just a bag and you'd never know unless you were laying the empty bag flat on a surface. 

I paid $2.80 for two toggles (used one), $6 for a remnant of black nylon and the rest of the items I had already (pot holder fabric, thread, shoelace for drawstring). This wasn't an expensive project because I already had the expensive fabric.

This was a fun afternoon project!

Crafty Camping Creations - Tree Table

When you're out on a camping trip, working around the campsite, setting up, taking down, cleaning up, cooking food, you often wonder if there's a better way to do things. We're constantly on the lookout for a better way, better tool. One of the things we discussed this past summer was having some sort of a table.

I did pick one up at Cabela's in Phoenix, Arizona. But it's a heavy one and if we're doing a long trip with a lot of portaging, we'll probably leave it behind.

I imagined a piece of fabric that would be suspended between two trees. Somewhat like some of the existing wooden tables built at some campsites.

It's really nice to get stuff off the ground. Things get dirty, stuff gets tipped over, foreign objects get dropped into things, especially if you're walking around.

I saw the fabric as being stretched in a way that would make it stable and have a pocket flap along one edge. The other edge could have a ribbon of hooks to hang things too. It would be lightweight, easy to pack.

Without further ado, here is the alpha prototype version. It didn't work quite as expected. I decided to stabilize the length of the table with my walking poles. I created a casing area to hold the poles, obviously this would only be one usage of the poles, not a permanent solution. I also haven't added the ribbon with hooks on the other side.

Basically the whole table is just a rectangular piece of fabric doubled up and folded in a way to get the pockets. I created two casings to hold my trekking poles, extended to the 125 cm length. I also ran a string of paracord through each of the 2 casings and tied loops on the ends. Then I took two bungee cords to suspend the table between two trees.

Here's a view from the other side without the pocket.

It also needs some way to prop it open as it tends to fold on itself, much like a hammock. In the photos above, taken in a local park, I found small sticks on the ground that I broke into the right length and stuffed at either end. Maybe we could whittle a couple of twigs into the role on the trip. Hmmmm.

I'll have to brainstorm a little more with LT. He hasn't seen it yet. 

Getting crafty with it!

How to make your own bug hat:

I searched and searched a couple of years ago for the perfect bug hat. I tried on various ones at MEC, LeBaron, Sail, etc. I didn't like any of them. Granted a bug hat is usually not on the cutting edge of fashion. And the bugs would much prefer you show up without one anyways. I was looking for one where the netting didn't touch my face. I decided to make my own and here's how I did it.

You'll need a sewing machine, thread, fabric, scissors, elastic, and a long shoelace. I went to Party City and purchased a witch's hat for about $5. My logic was that the witch's hat would have a very large brim, and it does. One downside is that these hats only come in witch black. I bought a couple of meters of black very tightly woven netted fabric at Fabricland. I also wanted to make a bug shirt with the same fabric.

This project shouldn't take too long. As long as you have all the necessary items, you could probably whip it up in under an hour.

I measured the circumference of the brim of the hat. I cut that amount of fabric plus an inch for seam allowance for the width. I cut it about 24 inches long as well. I had lots of fabric, no need to skimp. 

Because this is not a pretty item, I really didn't make much effort to do pretty seams. Also, I found the fabric tore fairly easy (on a tough trip going through multiple unmaintained portages), so I'd recommend doing a French seam where the fabric meets itself (not needed on the brim).

Here's where you can see what a French seam is: The Wiki Explanation

Once the side seam was sewn, I sewed the fabric onto the brim. Next I created a casing along the bottom of the "veil" where I inserted a shoe lace I had on hand. This allows you to tighten the bottom of the face screening.

Lastly, I sewed some elastic (black of course) on the hat so I could keep the hat on if a breeze blew up. 

Oh, and because paddling down a lake wear a witch's hat might be a tad bit frightening, I turned the hat inside out and tied a knot in the pointed top, which made it look like it has a rounded peak.

Here's a picture of the final product:

For effect, I have been known to cackle as I paddle down the lake wearing this. Or pretend I'm some Victorian widow while I break out in a very bad British accent.

I've taken a small netted bag meant for some other gear that I don't use it for and I'm able to put this hat into it. There is a wire in the brim and if you grab either side of the hat, twist in opposite directions and fold the two sides of your new "figure 8" on top of each other, it packs down quite nicely. It can go in the bag, or just in the side pack of my large backpack, which is where I usually keep it handy when travelling during bug season.

The black fabric works best for vision. However, I am most definitely NOT a vision while wearing this. Warning, the following photo is not a flattering one.

I am also modelling the homemade bug shirt

Bag Makeover

LT has had his eye on a particular bag at MEC.  He almost bought it before his solo trip.  When he got back from that trip, his talk was all around how to tweak the bag combination we are carrying.  Here's what he's considering:

Mountainsmith Tour TLS

It's basically an oversized fanny pack that costs $70!  Every time we're in MEC he asks my opinion and I hem and haw.  Seems crazy expensive to me, for a fanny pack!

I've been doing a bit of a clean-up in my spare bedroom and I found a backpack I bought at Value Village for a whole $6.99 (not including tax, of course).  My intent was to cut it up and use it to design a pet carrier.  The inside of the backpack had three full compartments and I wasn't able to wrap my head around what to do with the two extra sections, so it was just sitting there.

Original purchase

Yesterday I decided to make my very own oversized fanny pack with it.  Out came the scissors and the stitch ripper and I went to work.

All torn up

I used the sidepockets on the outside of the bag as a guide for the smallest size I could cut the bag down to.  I made sure to cut the section with the handle on top of the bag to put it on the smaller version instead of cutting it off completely.

I only did one seam where I forgot to add one of the 3 sections of fabric being sewn back in place so I had to tear that out and re-do it.

Now the final version is not pretty and I would never submit it as an example of my finer sewing skills.  Some of the seams were mashed and stitched for strength, not beauty.  Here are a couple of pictures of the final product - side and front.  Notice that I kept the VV price tag on!  Probably to emphasize that $70 is too much for a glorified fanny pack!

Front view

Side view

I used the backpack straps to create a belt, now I just need to add a clip buckle.  Do you think LT will carry it instead of the pricey one?  

Epilogue:

LT had a couple of suggestions which I implemented.  I had taken the shoulder straps and sewn them onto the bottom tabs and needed to get a buckle.  I left the bottom straps in place.  

He suggested I use velcro for the closure instead of a buckle.  That worked well! 

Then he suggested I somehow put something in place to allow him to shrink the bag or tighten it front to back.  The bottom straps worked perfectly for that.  I took the buckles they had gone into from the top shoulder straps and sewed them onto the upper front section.  Pics below.

Side buckle to cinch the bag tighter

Ditto above

Velcro waist closure