Materials:
The materials employed for making this project are plastic bags left from me ordering food deliveries, markets and online shopping, which are the things I frequently did in my daily life. Once I started this project, I started to pay attention on how many plastics were consumed and surprised by the numbers applied just in a single week for collecting them.
Inspiration Image: @Pinterest
My initial inspiration came from this image of a redesigned tote bag out of multiple unsustainable plastic bags with three separate piece of gussets and fixed straps on two sides. I was also inspired by its design of mixing layers of plastic bags to create a firm surface for the purpose of sustainable uses.
Sketch:
I did some quick sketches on general forms and structures. I didn’t attempt to add too many details on my sketches for the need of exploring materiality and being more creative with the randomness and possibilities.
Making Process:
I used the home sewing machine to create linear and zig-zag stitches and pattern making techniques for assembling the redesigned bag.
- Front and Back: Using a plastic bag with texts and another side with an interesting glittering effect, I applied collages and typography to create the front part of my bag. I kept the warning sign on the plastic bag used to make the back side and cover a plastic layer on top of the sign to provide some interests. I used zig-zag stitches to patch the bags and layers together.
- Pocket Design on the Back: I used the plastic bag’s side with glittering effect to make a pocket design on the back next to the warning sign.
- Sides: To create some textures, I sewed bubble wraps onto plastic layers to be used for the sides of the redesigned bag.
- Straps: I used the material of the plastic bag that is usually for making handles. I applied nail polish remover to remove the prints on the plastic bag. To make the handle stronger, I added a layer of PVC fabrics inside the plastics, folding the plastic bags left from market shopping and fixing them to the middle of each strap.
- Bottom: I attached two layers from three plastic bags and one layer of the PVC fabric together to make the bottom of the redesigned bag strong enough and create gusset with the two sides.
Final View:
