Friday, August 31, 2012
DIY Thirty One bag liner (my first DIY blog!)
So I like most every other woman in America am obsessed with Pinterest! I find myself re-pinning everything, wanting to learn to sew, bake, use power tools, and just be creative! I occasionally find something I think I can pull off. Well I found this one a while ago and it only lead to a picture no blog or instructions to go with only a short explanation in the caption. But it was pretty self explanatory anyways.
This is the picture from the pin
If you own a Thirty One Utility tote you know it doesn't stand on its own, it slouches down. In the original pin they had used a summer vinyl table cloth so it can be wiped off if needed. I couldn't find one I liked and figured a shower curtain would serve the same purpose, so today when I found a colorful zebra print shower curtain(my favorite) on clearance at Meijer I decided to go for it.
I first went to my Thirty One catalog to get the dimensions of the bag, I could have measured, but they already do and I'm not that accurate at measuring. I then went to the garage and used some card board box's from my car parts that luckily had not been recycled yet. I cut 3 pieces the size of the front back and bottom of the bag 11.75"H X 21.5"W which is the same size, and 2 pieces the size of the sides 11.75"H X 10"D. I brought the pieces in to do a fitting before I covered, I did end up having to trim them down even more to fit nicely.
Because the shower curtain I bought was kinda see through I had to paint the card board for a background color, I originally thought black spray paint would work good, but it didn't work very good and didn't set my pattern off very good either. So after looking through our paint collection I decided to use a lime green we had used in Colton's room a few years ago. Now had I used a table cloth or solid shower curtain I could have avoided this step, but it was on sale and I liked it.
So I painted all 5 pieces and let them dry, I could have done 2 coats but one was enough with the print on top to cover any imperfections. I then measured enough of my curtain to cover each piece and cut it up. Then I just used spray adhesive to glue the shower curtain to my card board pieces. I'm not that great at getting things to fold and cover tightly, but the curtain was kind of stretchy so it worked pretty good.
I love the way it turned out and the colors and patterns together! No more slouchy Large Utility Tote for me.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI have a quick question about your blog, do you think you could e-mail me?
Brian
Sorry Brian I just got your comment. I tried to email you from your profile and I can't because I don't have Windows email set up through my computer and your email is not public. Send me your question to my email spaladyjamie@yahoo.com
Deletegreat idea! Thanks for sharing your method!
ReplyDeleteJamie...did you tape your pieces together or just fit them in the bag as is?
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delayed response! I did not tape them together, I just fit them as is, they are pretty tight in there so they don't move much.
DeleteThanks Jamie....so worries on the "late" response....just saw this now. LOL :)
DeleteThank your for the instructions. I was like you, I pinned the same picture and then later when I went to check it out so I could make one, it was only the picture. I have been trying to figure out what to make the sides out of. I will have to look for some boxes the size I need. Thank you again for explaining how you did it. I LOVE my 31 Utility bags. I have like 4 or 5 of them. But I really wanted the sides to stand up. I will be trying to collect my supplies this weekend and hopefully doing this project next week when the kids are back in school. :) :) :)
ReplyDeletefor what they charge I resent having to modify them:(
ReplyDeleteMe too! I have one kind I love (the fold and file), bu was really disappointed in the other two I tried. They are sack like rather than sturdy totes
DeleteSome people like them slouchy because they allow more things to fit in. But for those who don't coming up in May 2015 the Stand Tall Insert is on sale with the Large Utility Tote as well. It not only makes the tote stand tall, it has a number of different sized mesh pockets. I hope this helps. mythirtyone.com/danellpribis
DeleteAwesome! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your idea. I too had the same annoying problem. I ended up using laminate peel and stick covering to cover the pieces of cardboard. I found a pattern I really liked and it worked well. Just thought I'd pass on this idea too.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same for tip. The bag is costly. But, I will do the same trick for my bags
ReplyDeleteJust an FYI for all you Large Utility Tote lovers out there that are aggravated by the flimsiness of this awesome tote...The January 2015 hostess special is actually a Thirty-One made insert for the totes. It is amazing and boast mesh pockets lining the inside and is easy to attach! Find your local consultant and book now!
ReplyDeleteShould be able to buy this insert without hosting a party. These are the reasons I no longer buy Thirty-One products.
ReplyDeleteShould be able to buy this insert without hosting a party. These are the reasons I no longer buy Thirty-One products.
ReplyDeleteyour blog probably isn't active anymore, but if so, let me just say that after searching and searching, even on youtube your's is one of the only places I could find actual instructions. That's one of the most frustrating things about Pinterest, even though we all love it. So thank you,
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteThank you for the idea. I love my utiity tote inserts, but I refuse to pay nearly the same price as the bag for them. I'll start DIYing them.
ReplyDelete