During BEASTBOX, I had the chance to teach a workshop called “Making Sock Monsters.” The Omaha Creative Institute hosts these Come Create It workshops, and the goal is to learn a new skill or talent and after two hours take home the proof. Sock monsters went really well, so I’ve taught once again, plus I started teaching s second workshop. It’s about making your own recycled tote bags. It involves fusing plastic grocery bags to create a sort of homemade vinyl, and then using the material to sew a bag.
I was really amazed at how well the fused bags worked. I learned some tricks with experimentation, like using the same type of plastic for all eight layers works best, and always fuse them with any printing toward the inside. You can read more about this process at MAKE or CRAFT magazine’s blogs, but here’s the video. Once you get the technique down for fusing the materials, you can pretty much treat it like a sheet of vinyl. During the workshop, Anna made a tote bag with flipped seams, graphics fused into the layers, and extra loops for clipping peripherals to the bag. Rebecca’s bag was horizontal with white and black webbing, loops at the bases of the handles, and a ribbon closure. I’ve posted more pics of the results here.
You can get the info on all the current OCI workshops at the Omaha Creative Institute’s website.