Recently one of my favorite custom sewing clients came to me with quite an intriging project. A local musican, who is multi-instrumental, he brought me a well loved Double Bass travel bag that he wanted upcycled into a carrying case for his Tuba. TUBA? yup, Tuba...this cat really enjoys an oversized instrument!
This sewing challenge was a true Upcycle. Utilize existing textiles while improving function, beauty + durability.
This bag had been not only stretched-beyond-its-limits by housing a Tuba, rather than the intended shape, but it had also been exceptionally well loved by some cats... who found it to be a most excellent scratching post.
The first task was to repair and reinforce the bulging seams at the zipper where it meets the round curves of the Tuba. Not to mention repairing the stress points on the shoulder straps and side panels. The "elephant nose", left behind by the Double Bass, was choppped off and given additional girth to comfortably house the Tuba's bell. Additional padding was stitched inside to protect the delicate finger valves. Existing pockets were reinforced while an additional large pocket was placed on the front.
All of the material used for this Upcycle challenge were harvested from The Bobbin's vast selection of sustainable textiles. Chosen for this project were remenants of a burgandy canavas which mingled beautifully with the bag's exisitng black canvas fabric. A heavy-duty black thread was used for all the seams.
My client's Tuba now has a happy new home without the consuption of new raw materials. Instead his bag was created from local, sustainable, already exisitng textiles, utilizing local Vermont Mama labor, resulting in a (zero) waste, low carbon footprint, unique instrument bag.
Mama sez...a stitch in time, really does save nine!
If you have an interesting upcycle challenge or fiber arts restoration, please contact Gyllian at the shop and schedule a consultation 802-862-7417.
Thanks for sharing! That's totally a cool way to use stuff over again.
Posted by: Anna | 23 November 2010 at 12:23 PM