Tag Archives: sail cloth

Wind Scoop 2.0 – Blowing in the Wind

"The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind"*...so if we scoop up lots of air we'll have all the answers to life's questions? Or we'll just have happy husbands who like to nap under a big breeze at anchor?  I'll be glad when I have found the perfect wind scoop (WS) design. I've made two wind scoops with different designs.  Sure I could have bought a kit or copied a design from a book.  Or heaven forbid - bought one**.  (There are several styles on the market that you've probably seen deployed, but they can be pricey.)  But noooo I have an engineer for a husband.  He draws plans on napkins at dock bars and says "here make this".  (The more wine, the more complex the design.)  So why have I made two different designs if he Read more [...]

Bowline Bags – the details (Updated June 2016)

My friend asked me to make her a Bowline Bag and she'd pay me for it.  Whaaaat? After being flattered and stunned, I agreed with a few conditions.  I couldn't guarantee a delivery time since we were underway and I wanted to sew at a dock and that would be a few weeks.  I needed to acquire some better sail cloth.  She agreed. I've made about 15 bags.  Each one gets better, but I still am not very efficient making them aboard with somewhat limited space.  Nevertheless, I try to improve the instructions in hope that the next one will be even better. (If you are one of my friends with an early version, I'm sorry.) Bowline Bags Finished unlined bag 18" h x 20" w x 6" base depth with design on front Materials: --Large Read more [...]

Apron On Board?

Aprons bring up thoughts of grandmothers, home economists, and Thanksgiving for me.  My friends know that I am not a great cook though I am a home economist.  I "assemble" ok though.  The Captain is probably the better cook on board. He does great grill and grill bread.   So when I made a simple apron out of recycled sail cloth not too long ago, I got a funny look. "When was the last time you wore an apron?"  Well, it was probably back on land when I made chocolate truffles for a Chocolate Valentines Day Party.  I didn't have one on board anyway.  Maybe now that I have one, I'll wear one. Sail Cloth Apron This is a very easy project taking about 1-2 hours. Materials: --Sail cloth or other fabric with some weight --Binding - 5-8 yards Read more [...]

Easy-to-Make Sail Bag Purse

I decided to make a new purse. I miss a little variety in my wardrobe now that we live aboard full time.  I don't have the selection of purses that I had when we had a home with walk-in closets for storage and where leather wouldn't mold. I liked the purse I had made before, but it was showing wear and tear and was a tad bit small.  So whip up another.  But how about a new design?  How about a changeable handle at least for variety?  Easy enough. The shoulder strap snaps on the hooks in the grommets.  This basic design can be adapted to many sizes and styles.  We are only limited by our ideas! Sail Bag Shoulder Purse with Changeable Straps Instructions Time:  Estimate 3 hours (planning/cutting/marking Read more [...]

Sail Bags

I entered these bags in the Sailrite Project Photo Contest.  The winner is determined by votes on their website by August 17, 2015.  Would you vote for my bags!? http://www.sailrite.com/Contest --------------------------------   It's been awhile since I've made any Bowline Bags.  So I thought I'd update my bags.  After surviving a "creative disaster zone" while sewing on the boat, a recycled sail  backpack and small cross body bag appeared. These are pretty simple bags.  I designed pockets out of Phifertex for my phone and pens across the back panel of the backpack. And I added a key fob to hold our rental car keys.  (Now that the condo and cars are sold, we have very few keys!)  Ladderlock buckles allow for adjustments Read more [...]

Bowline Bags – The Details Revealed

You've seen the beautiful, practical, yet pricey sail bags made by big name designers.  I thought there had to be a way to make similar sail bags for less money using recycle sails.  The Captain wanted several bags for provisioning and carting goods to and from the  boat.  We were weekend sailors until we tossed the dock lines.  So this Seamless Sailor started searching for a used sail to make lots o' bags. The Boat Galley has also written about using good shopping bags for provisioning, too. We used these bags a lot. The first sail came from the Annapolis boat consignment shop, Bacon's.  For a few dollars I got one with which to experiment.  Several ok bags came from that sail with a green Sunbrella sacrificial cover on the leech Read more [...]