Back to writing about barrel bags; because… well, because!
Templates
So I’ve revisited the ol’ barrel-bag-outa-duct-tape thing.
Up until now, the crafting process of these bags has been guided by rough sketches and drawing construction guides directly onto duct tape. This was done using a Sharpie Pen; its ink sticks to the slick side of the tape well but can be wiped off easily. But if I want to make instructions for others, I will need templates to simplify things.
Instead of using a 2D CAD, I’ve resorted to Inkscape, as I do.
The main features:
- Each pattern only needs to be printed and cut out once.
- Each pattern has a quantity number of how many should be made.
- Each pattern has an ID number (in a box) that can be used to reference it in instructions.
- Each hole-punch guide has a 5mm and 2mm guide, depending on what type of rivets (2mm leather rivets or 5mm eyelets) you want to use.
- Sheets will have a dotted line showing the grain.
- Significant landmarks and alignments are shown.
Economics and Effort
Creating one of these things is quite a bit of work, but with experience, better pipeline planning, and tooling, it’s getting a bit better. Still, it’s fair to say the current economics of duct tape crafting are several orders of magnitude behind fast fashion.
But with time, my Duct Tape fashion empire will slowly take root, so watch out, Bernard Arnault!
But seriously, because someone IRL always has to ask when I show them (just for fun) a janky prototype: no, these things are never going to be economical to craft with the intention of selling. It’s ~$20 worth of duct tape and an all-day activity. Still, there’s plenty of room for improvement.
Besides having ready-made templates for a design, probably the lowest hanging fruit would be effectively marking the middle line for strips of tape – which is needed for all ribbon and sheeting tasks. So a simple jig was created. It draws the line into the glue of the tape.
Now, if I could just get a machine that I could pull fully formed ribbons and sheets from – that would be a game changer.
The Clear Abyss
While I was making the duct tape ribbons and sheeting, I was thinking about if the process would be any easier if I just used sheet plastic. I was also reminded of some leftover marine vinyl I had. This is clear PVC sheet plastic about the width of a credit card.
I originally had this large roll of thick plastic to make a cheap office chair mat.
The problem with having leftover materials around is that they become a distraction because I get tempted to make random things with is. Case in point, I’m on this journey because extra duct tape got turned into a barrel bag. So to resolve the issue and to reduce the risk of getting distracted, I got rid of it,… by also turning it into a barrel bag.
This stuff is pretty transparent, which makes crafting with it tough. Especially weaving with it. Eventually, the plastic would get scuffed and pick up finger oils – but until then, I’m visually working purely using the specular highlights of the material.
Have you ever Greco-Roman wrestled the ethereal ghost of a jellyfish? It’s like that.
But ultimately, I made something equivalent to the duct tape design. Kind of wonky, but the basic form is there.
Several things were different, a few things to note:
- The zipper was a pain and is more flimsily attached. It’s not taking the office staples as well as the duct tape.
- The previous eyelets I used weren’t long enough, and the only ones I could find suitable were designed for Kydex holsters. They work well, though.
- Extra rivets are used because I couldn’t duct tape together some parts. I think they were originally designed for leather crafting, but meh, a rivet is a rivet.
- If I wanted to preserve the clear finish, I probably should have worn gloves. But since this is the first time, I’m more focused on understanding the structure and completion of the process than adding barriers for aesthetics.
- I didn’t seal the side caps – that probably would have involved PVC cement, which would have messily colored the transparent insides (purple).
Its capsule form and transparent properties kind of remind me of bacteria. I have no reason to mention that, but I can’t stop thinking about it every time I see it. Like, I want to fill the bag with diorama bacteria guts or buy more PVC sheet plastic and make a tardigrade floatie.
That’s weird, right? And yet the admission of weirdness changes nothing.
Where I’m At
I still need to get the final versions of a template I can make from start to finish without any issues or modifications. Which means I need to make at least one more from scratch. But that’s for later. Luckily it gets easier and faster to remake every successive time, especially with better templates.
A collection is amassing. At a certain point, I think I’ll need to enact a policy to keep them stored in separate places – so they don’t organize and revolt in a “secret hidden lives of large Lysteria bags” way.
