first of all what fabrics do you reccomend for making beanbags? and where can you buy it in smallish quantitys? and what do you reccomend for shells for russians other than playpit balls? and where can you buy them?
On Nov 8, 9:05 am, 27gris...@googlemail.com.nospam.com (BaconJuggling) wrote:
> first of all what fabrics do you reccomend for making beanbags? > and where can you buy it in smallish quantitys? > and what do you reccomend for shells for russians other than playpit balls? > and where can you buy them?
Hi, Avoid tapestry fabric, the decorative stitching will break, leaving you with "hairy" bean bags. Personally I'm not wild about ultrasuede (not to be confused with "utlraleather"), my long grain rice filled bags abraded away from the inside (long grain rice can be pretty pointy when it breaks). Denim works well. Some decorator fabrics work well but avoid ones with a backing or that are thicker than a jean weight denim. I've never made any with a stretch fabric. You can buy as little as an eighth of a yard (by however wide the fabric is, usually 36-54") at Hancock Fabrics or JoAnn Fabrics (national retailers in the USA), as you can at most fabric stores. I don't know anything about russians. I think there are some patterns on the web for the bean bags.
i think the best shells i've ever used for making any kind of filled stage balls was a street hockey ball. most sporting good stores and toys r' us carry them. the have a slight amount of give to them but still stay perfectly round. the best way to fell them is to drill a whole. fill it with your desired material to your desired weight, and the seal it by using caulk. yes the sealing may take a while if done correctly, but you will have a nearly indestructible seal.
Adding: if you have one of those sewing stores, check the remnants table: always small quantities, small prices, no great loss if you don't like it. Big point: the size of the threads, for actual fabric, makes a big difference. Big threads will ravel at the edges. Consider iron-on backing material too. But not before you make sense of how you will be sewing: what can your machine, or your hands, manage? The pattern will matter too: more panels means smaller panels and more corners with more layers.
Advice: start with an easy fabric, like a left-over shirt or pants, and see how it goes. You will have to work out what pattern and what size you want. After you get some experience, you won't need to ask. Look at BagLady's website to see what materials and patterns were used: http://www.thebagladyonline.net/
p.s.: I can't believe anyone going to the trouble to make ball bags uses any rice, much less long-grain, for fill.
> i think the best shells i've ever used for making any kind of filled stage > balls was a street hockey ball. most sporting good stores and toys r' us > carry them. the have a slight amount of give to them but still stay > perfectly round. the best way to fell them is to drill a whole. fill it > with your desired material to your desired weight, and the seal it by > using caulk. yes the sealing may take a while if done correctly, but you > will have a nearly indestructible seal.
You can do that with stage balls too, which is nice if you want bigger balls but a russian effect. I don't use them, but I've tried some before and they are pretty cool.
BaconJuggling wrote: > and what do you reccomend for shells for russians other than playpit balls?
What qualities of playpit balls don't you like? In my opinion, it is hard to find another type of shell that is so thin and light as a playpit ball, but perhaps you have something different in mind.
> p.s.: I can't believe anyone going to the trouble to make ball bags > uses any rice, much less long-grain, for fill.
I was scandalized when I read that too, even now!
I was young, naive, and the bean bags were simple cubes. The rice was free, plentiful and there were concerns that should this become my vocation that I might need to cannibalize them for food. But yes, there is really no excusing it. These days I use little plastic pellets (produced by miniature synthetic rabbits?) and an almost round pattern (still not happy with it,though). But I'm pretty much done making bean bags. Well, should the right cloth catch my eye....I'm not saying I'm looking or anything!
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