The Bucket Bag, Part 2

The Math

To start working the bucket bag, I needed to do a little drafting because I don't have a pattern.  Really, there are only 3 major pieces:  the bottom, the sides and the strap.  Anything else, like pockets is extra and I'll deal with those in a later post. 

I started by drawing a circle with a 6" diameter.  To do this, I pulled out some simple tools, the ruler, compass and the calculator (which will be used later).

I started there because that was the size I thought I wanted.  Once it was drawn, I realized it was a bit smaller than I wanted, so I added 7" diameter circle and an 8" diameter circle.  I liked the 7" the best and the 8" was good to have because that is now the cutting line, giving me a 1/2" seam allowance.

The next thing I needed to determine was the size of the piece I'll need for the sides of the bag.  Since this bag is basically a cylinder with a drawstring at the top, the base is a circle and the sides will be cut in one long piece as a rectangle with just one seam.  I wanted a bag height of 10", so that side was easy to figure out.  The length around the circle was a simple calculation away.  The circumference of a circle is equal to the diameter times pi (which is 3.14).  So, 7 x 3.14 = 21.98.  Not quite 22", but I'm going to round up to 22", the difference of .02 inches is not enough to worry about. 

Now that I know the raw dimensions of the rectangle, 10x22 inches, I can add in seam allowances and design features.  I wanted a solid band at the top and bottom of the bag, and decided on 1 1/2" wide.  Subtracting 1 1/2" x 2 (top and bottom) from 10" gives me 7" of center section.  I just drew up a quick little diagram, noting all the dimensions and pieces.  I'll use this later when I cut all the pieces with the rotary cutter.  There's really no need to draw pattern pieces if cut with the rotary cutter.

Lastly, I needed to figure out the placement of the eyelets for the drawstring.  I figured out that I needed 8 eyelets;  2 placed 1" apart at the center and then 6 more evenly spaced from there.  So, 22" finished length, minus 1" between the center two eyelets gives me 21" to work with.  I need 7 even spaces total, so 21" divided by 7 equals 3".  When constructing the bag, I'll mark those spaces with a water soluble marker to make sure that this will work out correctly; if not I can always adjust it before putting in the eyelets.

Next up is cutting everything out and getting the lining made.

Parting Shot:  Not Permanent.  Thankfully.  Every time my son gets his haircut, he comes home with a different color, which washes out the next morning.