Tips for making a rope tote bag
/The color on the outside of the bag is simply the bobbin thread. I cleaned off bobbins with 2 different colors of blue thread. All wide zigzag stitching.
3/16” Solid Cotton Braid rope from the Knot and Rope Store (online.)
It weighs almost 1.25 pounds and used about 210 feet of rope.
Plain old cotton rope has been one of my favorite mediums this year. I found a hank in my sewing room from years ago, when my boys were little. At that time, I made the rope bowls with strips of quilting cotton fabric wrapped around the rope, but I didn’t really feel like doing that again. This kind of project is a great way to clear your mind if you have been sewing garments or piecing a quilt, because there really isn’t any special pattern or measuring or cutting to do. My first bowl last March, was a tiny rope bowl, using up the last of some rope, and I use the bowl next to my chair to hold clips and thimbles.
My favorite rope for bowls that are not floppy has been 1/4” cotton sash cord. It’s stiffer and doesn’t stretch, because of the poly fibers inside the braided rope. After several bowls with just the cream colored rope, I started dunking the hanks of rope in my indigo vat. And recently, someone sent me photos of rope bowls, with the indigo dyed rope in a current magazine. Over the last year or so, I have accumulated several other gauges and types of rope, twisted and braided.
But, last weekend, I wanted to try making one of those rope tote bags with the long handles that I’ve seen on Pinterest. It’s all the same methods, zigzag and going around and around. But, to make a rope bag, you want a lighter gauge rope, and lots of it, so yay for me for thinking ahead and ordering 3/16” cotton rope…in bulk…3000 feet of it.
Details
For my bag, I chose 3/16” braided rope from Knot and Rope Supply, an American made rope company, with great customer service. Not affiliated, just a satisfied customer. And this is the rope I purchased from them, 3/16” solid braid cotton rope, on the bulk spool. Yes, I started with what I had on hand in my sewing room, and before I knew it, I had ordered 1000’ of one kind of rope. Don’t judge. I still pick up rope at the local farm store, but if you get into making rope baskets, bags, bowls, try some of this nicer rope. The feel is smoother and more pleasant to work with overall.
My bag turned out about 19” wide, when I fold it in half, and 14” tall. With the 3/16” solid cotton braid, I used 210 feet of rope, 10+ bobbins full of thread (my bobbins are larger than a standard machine,) and it weighs nearly 1 1/4 pounds, or 560 grams. If you are thinking of making and selling these, (I’m not…I’m just doing the math) out of a 1000’ spool (3000 feet) you could get 14 large tote bags, and that’s about $7 a bag.
As for the time it took me, it was most of an afternoon, between 3.5-4 hours, with only a couple interruptions.
Some tips if you make your own:
1. Wind a bunch of bobbins first. My machine has bobbins that hold 70% more thread than my older machines. They are big bobbins and yet, I cleaned off at least 10 of them. It’s much quicker to pop a full bobbin in, than stop, rewind a bobbin, pop it in. It’s less frustrating too. If you like a more artsy look, grab all those partially full bobbins languishing in your drawer and clean them off this way!
2. The bobbin thread is what shows on the outside of the bag, so I used a cream poly thread on the cone in my upper thread.
3. The most fiddly part is the start. Take your time, always stopping with the needle in the rope. After you get 3-4 rounds of rope, you can pretty much put your pedal to the metal and sew around and around and around.
4. It’s monotonous. Keep your eyes on your work, so you don’t sew a finger. :)
5. Use a wide zigzag. Ideally, you want to at least hit the center of the rope on each side. But, remember, the charm of these rope bags is that there is no way for them to be “perfect.” Embrace that. If I get off to the side, I just back up and zigzag over it again. You don’t need a fancy stitch to create some design on it, just shorten your stitch length and satin stitch (close zigzags) for a little bit, then go back to your chosen zigzag setting.
I hope these tips help you. If it still seems too daunting, I do have a video, that I’m trying to edit down to a reasonable length of time!
Keep making stuff! And make sure you tag me or message me on Instagram or below in the comments, so I can see what you are making!
Anne Dovel
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