Playing with plastic bags

Hi there. As one or two people showed an interest in fusing plastic I thought I would do another post about it. I've made another bag, this time using plastic I got from the Scrapstore when it closed down. You could use any plastic bags you have, the bigger the better. I have been experimenting with charity shop bags, but as these are mostly made from biodegradable material now, with very little plastic content, they don't stick together very well. Here I have sheets of red, and one large, clear plastic bag.

It doesn't matter too much about exact measurements, bags can be any size you want. I have cut three pieces of red, and one of clear. I use a piece of board on my table, it is an old dining room table which someone gave me, so I'm not too bothered about it, but if you have a posh table be carefull to protect it from the heat of the iron. I picked out some bits and pieces to decorate it, cut from charity bags, and others. Place these on the red plastic and cover with a piece of the clear on top, this will seal them in. You don't have to use the clear if you haven't got any, the bits will stick just the same, but some of the colours may come off onto the paper you put on top, and make it a bit smudgey.

Put your paper on top and bottom, have iron on hot, and quickly iron all over it, pressing down hard. My baking paper isn't big enough to cover the whole thing, so I peel it off while still warm, and reposition it over the bits around the edges which I have missed. It only takes a few seconds, peel the paper off when still warm and check that all of the plastic has fused evenly with no big bubbles in it. It will be crinkly, that's fine, but if you iron for too long the piece will become too distorted to use, you need it to stay flat. Always work in a well ventilated area and iron at arms length, open doors and windows. Melting plastic can be dangerous.

Then I made a second piece with no decorations on it. Trim the edges on both pieces with a knife and a straight edge like a ruler, you don't need to measure them. Put them together, outsides facing in and make sure the edges match up all the way round, trim if needed.

Then the rest is as I described for the other bag. Sew up the sides and bottom. Nip bottom corners to give it a flat base. Fold strips of plastic, and iron to make the handles. I like to fold the ends underneath as I am turning over the top edge.

This bag is 13" x 16", the other one was 14" x 17"

Fusing plastic in this way makes it very strong, it's my guess that it will last many years. The only weak spot I can see is if the stitching gives way, and the only way to get round that is to weld the seams, and that would be far to complicated.

You can use more layers for a stiffer piece, but then you might not be able to get it through the sewing machine. Or you could use less layers if you wanted to make a lightweight bag. Experiment and find the best solution for yourself. Half the fun of it is creating something different, and unique, something no one else has. Have fun playing :o)