How to make a ditty bag!
Dear Preppers and Survivalists,
As some of you know, I was terminated just after Thanksgiving.
Two Shirts and One Pair of Pants
Well, one of the things I have been doing (besides looking for a new career) is going through all my stuff. Lo and behold, I found some junk, as in trashed clothes, that I dont need any more. I was going to throw the rags away, but I realized something. I could reuse the uniforms.
At first, I thought I could reuse the old, dirty uniforms as cleaning rags. I could cut up the old shirts and pants and use the cloth to clean weapons, mop up oil drips, or as disposal wash rags, especially the 100% cotton shirt.
Zippers, Buttons, Belt Loops, Pieces of Cloth,
even the Shirt Pockets
So, I removed all the button, zippers, and belt loops. Yes, belt loops because they are a pain in the *ss to make. Next, I started cutting up the old, stained uniforms; I even removed the shirt pockets, then I stopped.
I stopped because I realized I could make a ditty bag. O.K., not a real ditty bag but at least a small bag for organizing stuff in my familys emergency evacuation kit.
This small bag could be used to hold a first-aid kit, toiletries, fire-starting kit, or ... what ever you can get in the bag.
So ... No pun intended.
12-inches of Pants leg, Shirt Pocket, Belt Loops
and
Small Circle of Cloth from Thigh-area of the Pants
After cutting up the uniform pants, I took each pants leg and cut it off about 12-inches from the bottom. Next, I cut a small circle (a little bigger then the cut end of the pants leg) from the thigh section of the pants.
The picture shows the items I started with to make the first ditty bag.
This bag will have a pocket on the inside. Now, you know the reason I saved the shirts pockets.
So...
To sew the recycled shirt pocket on the inside of the pants leg, I turned the pants leg inside out before I began sewing.
Shirt Pocket Sewn on Inside of Pants Leg
I have a crappy picture of how I sewed the pocket to the inside of the pants leg. Im not going to use it. Instead youre going to just see the finished product.
Needless to say, I would redo the location of the pocket. It is too close to the top of the ditty bag to allow the bag to be folded over. In the future, I would sew the pocket about two inches from the bottom of the bag.
Of course, some folks are going to ask, "Why dont you just turn the bag over and make the top the bottom?
I thought of that, but ...
First, the cut end of the pants leg will fray unless it is hemmed. Second, the pocket would be upside down, then. ; - )
Sewn Bottom of Two Ditty Bags
Next, I took the round piece of material, I cut from the pants thigh-area, and sewed it to the bottom edge of the pants leg.
As I was sewing, I kept about a 1-inch seam around the bottom of the ditty bag.
Needless to say, the picture shows two ditty bags. The one on the left is the round-bottom ditty bag (I have been writing about) The one on the left, I just sewed the cut end of the pants leg shut.
Once, I finished with my sewing, I folded the bags right-side out.
Bottom of Finished Ditty Bags
I dont have a good picture of the finished bags, but I do have a picture of the bottom of the finished bags, right-side out.
To finish up the bags, I added a belt loop to the outside top of the bags. The belt loop will act as a place the tie a smart cord to secure the ditty bags to my pack.
So... Again, no pun intended.
You can modify my design. One mod is to add a strip of Velcro to the pocket to secure any items stored in the pocket. A long-strip would keep everything in the pocket. A short-strip of Velcro, one to two inches, would just hold the pocket shut.
Another mod would be to use the pants zipper to close the ditty bag.
Needless to say, yall are a smart group of people, if you have another modification; please tell us about the mod in the comments.
Link:
Frayed Knot Arts - The Sailors Traditional Ditty Bag and Ditty Box
http://www.frayedknotarts.com/files/dittybagbox.html
Note:
If youre interested in knots, you will want to check out the home page and its links. Very cool!
Someone You Know
My thanks go out to Someone You Know for a very informative guest post.
You can also check out some of the other great posts by Someone You Know at:
http://gsiep.blogspot.com/.
How to make a ditty bag!
