ErikaMoen

From RIP to Repair: Sleeping Bag Edition

Added 2023-05-03 06:13:21 +0000 UTC

Sometime after I moved to Portland, I bought my first sleeping bag. Considering that that was 17 years ago, this guy has held up really well! But time comes for us all and the case-thing that keeps it wrapped up tight has developed two spectacular tears with frayed edges that are large enough that they're actually getting in the way of stuffing and hauling the rolled up bag around.

The holes, they are large.

I didn’t take a proper picture of how frayed the edges of the tears were, except for this little tuft. THE REST WAS EVEN MORE DRAMATIC. Obviously I wouldn’t be able to sew the raw edges of this disintegrating fabric back together, which meant I would need…

Bias Tape. While searching for bias tape for my 18th century pockets project, I found a little ziplock baggie full of them in blues and whites at SCRAP for like under a dollar. Somehow I sent my entire life not really aware of bias tape and then twice in one month I had actual need of it to hem unruly raw edges on two totally different projects and fabrics! Life comes at you fast, bro.

(Oh, I also got those little clippy-dudes holding the bias tape in place at SCRAP too. Again, so cheap. Under a dollar-type cheap, while their original retail price tag said something like $13)

I experimented with the tape and thread colors I used, and also how I attached them all together, since I had no idea what I was doing. Interestingly, my first attempt (top picture) came out almost indistinguishable from its original state, you actually had to be looking for the repair to see it. My second try (bottom picture)... haha. Wow. I mean, it gets the job done, so I'm cool with it! But lord, you can tell from a mile away that it has a home-done Frankenstein('s Monster) patch job on it. BUT IT'S FINE, IT GETS THE JOB DONE.

So, ta-da! My exploding sleeping bag's bag is now all neat and orderly! I did that! Perfect for taking to the coast for a week-long trip with my studio, Helioscope!