[beattieKeymaster]

Hi Gudrun and welcome 😀 Thanks for your question about the size of bags for children. I love your plan to give bags away to kids using your local library! 😀

I guess the answer depends on the size of the children the bags are for – you don’t want the bags to be dragging on the ground.

You can vary the size of your morsbags as much as you like to fit the fabric you have and the people they’re for. So long as you have a functional bag that fits the job it’s for, that’s fine!

I often suggest making a morsbag about 2/3 size for a child, and that works out a bit larger than the size of an A4 piece of paper.

You could make a trial bag and get some of the children to try it out. If it takes books of the size they borrow and the children don’t have to lean over or lift their arm up so the bag doesn’t drag on the ground, it should be OK.

For a bag 2/3 of a normal sized one you want a piece of fabric about 66cm long x 30cm wide for a bag with a fold at the bottom. (That’s 26″ x 12″ for people who work in inches) If your fabric is smaller than that you can make a two-piece bag by cutting 2 pieces that are 33cm x 30cm (= 13″ x 12″) and joining the bottom with a french seam the same as the sides.

All these measurements don’t have to be precise and you can make the bags fit the material you have available.

A couple more tips –
1) About handles- I usually make the handles the same length as the width of the bag. If it’s being made for a particularly short person I make them a bit smaller than usual and angle them inwards when sewing them up into the “upwards” position.
2) Another one for shorter people that may help with bags for kids, especially if they are borrowing picture books – you can turn the bag body around so it’s wider than it’s long (I think of these as like a beach bag). So for a normal sized bag you’d cut material to be 90cm long x 50 cm wide (36″ x 20″). Kid’s size “sideways” bag would need material cut to 60cm x 33cm (24″ x 13″).

Hope this helps and isn’t too confusing! Please ask if you need more help 😀

[beattieKeymaster]

I have to confess that the first I heard about the sex toys was when I read it this afternoon! Where they might have put them is not something I feel I should enquire into…..

[beattieKeymaster]

Now I’m home I can check the list I made of new pod registrations early in the month, and I’m sorry, I DID leave one out! 😳 It was –
Starting To Sew –
They write
“This Pod is for members of the Facebook group “Starting To Sew”. You can join the group here… https://www.facebook.com/group/F1647098332184571”

At least I included you in the list of pods that made bags in April! Well done for getting started. 😀

[beattieKeymaster]

FINALLY!!! We have a date & time – Sunday 17th May, 7pm, Channel 4
http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dk66sw/three-in-a-bed–series-3—episode-7?fb_action_ids=356208504578713&fb_action_types=og.comments

“The first visit this week is to the five-star Stoodley Hunting Lodge in Todmorden, West Yorkshire – home of David Winfield, who used to own a chain of sex shops. David’s luxury rooms even boast a supply of condoms – a far cry from what’s offered by his first rivals, Jo and Dominic De Rosa. At the Inner Guidance Retreat Centre in Lavenham, Suffolk, yoga and detox are the order of the day. The final competitors are Tanya and Andy Bellamy, who recently set up Coastal Valley Camp & Crafts in Newquay, Cornwall, offering glamping and willow weaving. The contest features meat-free, gluten-free and sugar-free dining, talk of sex toys, and a crafty afternoon sewing reusable shopping bags.”

[beattieKeymaster]

Do you know, I can’t believe the number of blokes who refused a bag from me this morning, then came out with a plastic carrier!

The duty manager in Tesco Express was a star and said that it would be perfectly all right to stand just outside and bag customers going in – thanks for that, Tesco!

It took an hour to give away 55 bags. I was left with one small one and four that were various combinations of mustard and black. I’d wondered whether to save them to take to Cornwall anyway (black and gold are the county’s colours), so I folded them away and called it a day.

As I was crossing the car park I realised that a party of local Lib Dems were marshalling themselves and their leaflets by a car, so I bagged the bloke wearing a rosette (presumably a candidate) with one of the deep yellow bags I had left over. 😀 He said it would be just the thing to carry their leaflets around in!

I had a nice time in the spring sunshine and met some lovely people doing it, so it’s all good! I hope other hander-outers had a good day too. 😀

[beattieKeymaster]

Sorry, I forgot to thank Offcuts for number-spotting for me on 30th April! 😀 It saved an awful lot of back-of-envelope maths! Thanks too to Krisaby for reminding Offcuts…. 😀

I’m always stunned by the numbers of bags that O2 make every month. They certainly put in their time.

I’m so glad you find it interesting to see the figures – and it’s inspiring when you see so many other people are sewing away wherever they are too. 😀

[beattieKeymaster]

Thanks Krisaby!

I’m going to stand on the pavement outside our local Tesco Express and give out 50 bags. Might pop in and ask if I can stand outside the door to catch people who’ve parked in the car park, therefore bypassing me on the pavement, but if they say no, that’s OK. It’ll just take a bit longer to hand out the bags is all.

Have a good day everyone! 😀

[beattieKeymaster]

What a great read! Well done Louise – and thank you Butterfly for introducing her to morsbags. There are some very interesting facts and figures in the article.

[beattieKeymaster]

Great News!! Congratulations to all members of Macs Bags on your achievement 😀

Also well done, Agwen, for overcoming the intricacies of various websites and posting those photos 😉

• This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by  beattie. Reason: spelling

[beattieKeymaster]

Isn’t it lovely to be able to re-purpose fabrics that are not worn out, just superfluous to requirements. 😀 Happy sewing Tarragon

[beattieKeymaster]

Absolutely! I’d have liked to see a photo taken from the top of the cliff, as you can’t really make out how long it is.

[beattieKeymaster]

Sounds perfect! 😀

[beattieKeymaster]

True! We haven’t given up hope, but are braced NOT to become TV stars, after all!! *irony alert*

[beattieKeymaster]

Hello Tarragon! Nice to meet you and welcome to the forum 😀 I’m impressed that you’ve been inspired and have ordered your labels already – I hope you find it fun to make and give away morsbags.

And the name….
We used to have a feature on the old website that gave an explanation, such as it is.
Morsbags was started in 2007 by Claire and Joe Morsman, they were looking for a name that would be unique and not TOO obviously “green” / “eco” / “recycled and came up with part of their name, added to “bags”. Tah-dah!

Sorry it’s quite prosaic, really.

[beattieKeymaster]

What a great idea to use up that difficult fabric, Krisaby! Did the fringing take long to do? Thanks for helping out with the photo Offcuts!

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