I'll never forget that phone call I received almost 16 years ago. "Julienne's in the hospital. She's paralyzed." My beautiful, charismatic, totally funny, actress friend who started a volunteer massage program for AIDS patients couldn't move her legs. And for quite a bit of the next year, I was her ride. I was the one who helped take her wheelchair apart, put it in the trunk of my car so she could get to her physical therapy appointments. It was also the start of my sewing custom bags for her that she could hang on the back of her wheelchairs.
This weekend is the ABILITIES EXPO at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St. Admission is free. On Friday, there was an article and video on Julienne in The Daily News about how a BraunAbility van changed her life. Julienne works for Ability Center, selling wheelchair accessible vans to people like her who want more mobility and independence in their lives.
Showing posts with label Wheelchair Bags. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wheelchair Bags. Show all posts
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Child's Wheelchair Bag: Hanging on Chair
I'm pleased to learn a few minutes ago that the wheelchair bag I made for the girl with Rett Syndrome is a great fit on her chair. I just got these photos from her mother. A custom made wheelchair bag of this size with a large, outside overlay pocket would cost $65.00 + shipping.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Making Wheelchair Bags
As I've previously written, I have a girlfriend, Julienne who I've made wheelchair bags for over the years. I finished this bag over a month ago and realized today that I never posted it here on the sewing blog. This is the second wheelchair bag I made for my friend Julienne. It is exactly like the first bag in a different print that she selected. If you click on the photo, you will see that in the center of the flower is an overlay pocket on top of a larger pocket.
This next bag was made for her husband Dan's wheelchair. He likes a shorter bag, and since his chair is wider it's a totally different shape.
Here are some images that detail the construction of these wheelchair bags.
Here is the beginning of the placement of the water bottle carrier on the bags. The overlay pockets have already been created but they have not been sewn on yet.
Closeup of Dan's overlay pockets.
In this photo, I'm sewing the straps on the bottom of the water bottle carriers. The placement of the straps and getting them just right so the bottle doesn't fall through the bottom is very time consuming.
Here, you can see how much sewing goes into attaching the straps to ensure they will take the weight and daily wear and tear use.
A closer photo of the attachment of the straps.
Here I am sewing the one strap that goes from side-to-side on the bottle carrier.
Here, the water bottle carrier is attached and then the overlay pocket has been sewn in over the left side edge of the bottle carrier.
Same step with Dan's bag.
The next steps are very easy sewing the back side to the front side and turning the bag right side out.
This next bag was made for her husband Dan's wheelchair. He likes a shorter bag, and since his chair is wider it's a totally different shape.
Here are some images that detail the construction of these wheelchair bags.
Here is the beginning of the placement of the water bottle carrier on the bags. The overlay pockets have already been created but they have not been sewn on yet.
Closeup of Dan's overlay pockets.
In this photo, I'm sewing the straps on the bottom of the water bottle carriers. The placement of the straps and getting them just right so the bottle doesn't fall through the bottom is very time consuming.
Here, you can see how much sewing goes into attaching the straps to ensure they will take the weight and daily wear and tear use.
A closer photo of the attachment of the straps.
Here I am sewing the one strap that goes from side-to-side on the bottle carrier.
Here, the water bottle carrier is attached and then the overlay pocket has been sewn in over the left side edge of the bottle carrier.
Same step with Dan's bag.
The next steps are very easy sewing the back side to the front side and turning the bag right side out.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Child's Wheelchair Bag: Prototype
This is a first of it's kind, prototype, wheelchair bag using cotton fabric 454 Faries bonded to heavy canvas. I've never made a bag for a wheelchair from photos before, or this large. I've always had the chair available to fit the bag to the chair. The bag is a gift for a young girl with Rett Syndrome and her chair has a high back and head rest. (The wine bottle is used to show the scale of the bag.)
The bag is based on the "Market Line" where cotton is hand glued to a canvas base. Inside, there is a cotton liner with two pockets. On the outside is pattern-matched overlay pocket. The bag will hang from the handles of the chair via 1.5" split rings. It has two magnetic snap closures at the top.
Originally, I had not planned to make the vertical pin-tucks on the corners but I wanted to make sure the bag hung between the various bolts and turn wheels. As you can see, the overlay pocket is about 1/8th of an inch too wide for the pin tucks causing the front line of the bag on the lower left to be out of alignment.
See updated entry HERE with the bag hanging on the chair.
Friday, June 5, 2009
A New Wheelchair Bag
I can't believe it's been six months since I've done any serious sewing.
My girlfriend Julienne with transverse meylitis has been bugging me for quite some time to make her a new wheelchair bag. Now that I'm not glued to the bench in Judge Fidler's courtroom anymore, I had no excuse.
I've made her several bags for her two chairs over the years, usually out of a heavy tapestry fabric. The bags I've made for her have been multi-purpose. They act as a small handbag and also as a place to keep her water bottle. My construction of these bags has evolved over the years, but one thing that hasn't changed is the fact that they go through a ton of wear and tear. I've repaired almost every bag at least once before I make her a new one.
When her children were still young, she needed zippers on the bags to keep their little hands out. I usually had to hand sew these in. Later we tried velcro but because it can wear out quickly we eventually settled on the magnetic snaps.
When designing a wheelchair bag, you have to think about function from a sightless person's point of view because when they reach or feel for something in their bag, it's all behind them. Oftentimes they can't turn around completely to "look" inside the bag.
Although I had recently made a wheelchair bag in December for a new client, it was made from tapestry and did not include a water bottle carrier.
About three weeks ago, I stopped by Julienne's house to talk to her about what she wanted for her next bag as well as to take measurements for a new bag for her husband's chair. We talked about the wear and tear issue and I suggested that maybe we should make this next bag not from upholstery fabric, but based on my Market Bag design: stiff canvas glue-bonded to cotton. I have Market Bags I've made for myself five years ago that are still standing up to the wear and tear. I thought this might be the answer to making her bags last longer.
When designing a wheelchair bag, you have to accept the fact that each bag will be different because all wheelchairs are not alike and not everyone needs the same thing. Julienne needs to be able to reach around to her bag, but it also needs to have easy access, hold it's shape and not add too much weight to the chair. Another concern Julienne had was the fact that the lighter shade of fabrics we've used in the past showed the dirt so she wanted to choose a darker fabric this time. (I chose not to put my label on the bag this time for this reason.)
I brought Julienne a large selection of black based fabrics to choose from. She picked two prints for two bags, and her husband picked a neutral print for his bag.
This bag would have two outside pocket overlays, a water bottle carrier able to hold a bottle with an 11" diameter, two inner pockets on the back side, three magnetic snap closures and D-ring holders. The size of the bag is based on my medium handbags. The base of the bag is made from two rectangular pieces 14" wide by 12" high. The bottom of the bag will be 4" deep. Her husband's bag will be wider (larger chair) and much shorter.
My Market Bag Line is a unique, hand bonding process that glues heavy, stiff canvas to a beautiful cotton print. Once the cotton is adhered to the canvas, you have a fabric that is almost as stiff as a lightweight piece of cardboard. The disadvantages of adhering two fabrics with glue sheets is the finished product is difficult to iron down seams and turn right side out.
Since I had not made one of these bags in so long, I was almost in uncharted waters as I tried to remember which step came first after cutting out and gluing the base of the bag. I realized that before I could even sew on the overlay pockets (that was quite a chore getting the tiny pocket fabric to be a perfect overlay to the print below it) I had to construct the water bottle holder.
The water bottle holder was designed to hold a specific size drink cup that Julienne uses when she's driving. It's 11 inches in diameter. I found a large bottle close to that size and determined how long the fabric piece needed to be to hold the carrier. I then calculated the spacing on the strapping that holds the bottom of the bottle, and sewed the three straps to the carrier piece. After that I sewed the strapping to the base of the bag and then the side of the carrier that goes underneath the bigger overlay pocket. Every seam is triple sewn.
Once the water carrier was constructed I could place the left side of the carrier fabric underneath the overlay pocket and sew the pocket pieces onto the base of the bag.
The next step is placing the front bag-base piece and the back-side piece right sides together; pressure mark, fold over and iron press the top edge of the bag then triple sew the side and bottom seams. Once the two sides have been sewn together then the seams have to be pressed open. The bottom square of the bag is then marked, 4" wide, and triple sewn.
The bag is then ready to turn right side out and the inside corner flaps glued down.
Once the bag is at this stage, I'm home free. Before the liner is made I install the magnetic snaps. Making the liner is no different than any other bag; the liner is custom fit to the bag. The inside pockets are made first, pinned then sewn to the liner piece. The sides of the liner are sewn together, the corner flaps measured, sewn and then sewn to the bottom of the liner. The liner is then fit into the inside of the bag so it will hang perfectly. After the liner is in the straps with D-rings are sewn into the top sides.
Here is the finished bag hanging on Julienne's chair.
Julienne at her office, where she sells wheelchair accessible vehicles.
My girlfriend Julienne with transverse meylitis has been bugging me for quite some time to make her a new wheelchair bag. Now that I'm not glued to the bench in Judge Fidler's courtroom anymore, I had no excuse.
I've made her several bags for her two chairs over the years, usually out of a heavy tapestry fabric. The bags I've made for her have been multi-purpose. They act as a small handbag and also as a place to keep her water bottle. My construction of these bags has evolved over the years, but one thing that hasn't changed is the fact that they go through a ton of wear and tear. I've repaired almost every bag at least once before I make her a new one.
When her children were still young, she needed zippers on the bags to keep their little hands out. I usually had to hand sew these in. Later we tried velcro but because it can wear out quickly we eventually settled on the magnetic snaps.
When designing a wheelchair bag, you have to think about function from a sightless person's point of view because when they reach or feel for something in their bag, it's all behind them. Oftentimes they can't turn around completely to "look" inside the bag.
Although I had recently made a wheelchair bag in December for a new client, it was made from tapestry and did not include a water bottle carrier.
About three weeks ago, I stopped by Julienne's house to talk to her about what she wanted for her next bag as well as to take measurements for a new bag for her husband's chair. We talked about the wear and tear issue and I suggested that maybe we should make this next bag not from upholstery fabric, but based on my Market Bag design: stiff canvas glue-bonded to cotton. I have Market Bags I've made for myself five years ago that are still standing up to the wear and tear. I thought this might be the answer to making her bags last longer.
When designing a wheelchair bag, you have to accept the fact that each bag will be different because all wheelchairs are not alike and not everyone needs the same thing. Julienne needs to be able to reach around to her bag, but it also needs to have easy access, hold it's shape and not add too much weight to the chair. Another concern Julienne had was the fact that the lighter shade of fabrics we've used in the past showed the dirt so she wanted to choose a darker fabric this time. (I chose not to put my label on the bag this time for this reason.)
I brought Julienne a large selection of black based fabrics to choose from. She picked two prints for two bags, and her husband picked a neutral print for his bag.
This bag would have two outside pocket overlays, a water bottle carrier able to hold a bottle with an 11" diameter, two inner pockets on the back side, three magnetic snap closures and D-ring holders. The size of the bag is based on my medium handbags. The base of the bag is made from two rectangular pieces 14" wide by 12" high. The bottom of the bag will be 4" deep. Her husband's bag will be wider (larger chair) and much shorter.
My Market Bag Line is a unique, hand bonding process that glues heavy, stiff canvas to a beautiful cotton print. Once the cotton is adhered to the canvas, you have a fabric that is almost as stiff as a lightweight piece of cardboard. The disadvantages of adhering two fabrics with glue sheets is the finished product is difficult to iron down seams and turn right side out.
Since I had not made one of these bags in so long, I was almost in uncharted waters as I tried to remember which step came first after cutting out and gluing the base of the bag. I realized that before I could even sew on the overlay pockets (that was quite a chore getting the tiny pocket fabric to be a perfect overlay to the print below it) I had to construct the water bottle holder.
The water bottle holder was designed to hold a specific size drink cup that Julienne uses when she's driving. It's 11 inches in diameter. I found a large bottle close to that size and determined how long the fabric piece needed to be to hold the carrier. I then calculated the spacing on the strapping that holds the bottom of the bottle, and sewed the three straps to the carrier piece. After that I sewed the strapping to the base of the bag and then the side of the carrier that goes underneath the bigger overlay pocket. Every seam is triple sewn.
Once the water carrier was constructed I could place the left side of the carrier fabric underneath the overlay pocket and sew the pocket pieces onto the base of the bag.
The next step is placing the front bag-base piece and the back-side piece right sides together; pressure mark, fold over and iron press the top edge of the bag then triple sew the side and bottom seams. Once the two sides have been sewn together then the seams have to be pressed open. The bottom square of the bag is then marked, 4" wide, and triple sewn.
The bag is then ready to turn right side out and the inside corner flaps glued down.
Once the bag is at this stage, I'm home free. Before the liner is made I install the magnetic snaps. Making the liner is no different than any other bag; the liner is custom fit to the bag. The inside pockets are made first, pinned then sewn to the liner piece. The sides of the liner are sewn together, the corner flaps measured, sewn and then sewn to the bottom of the liner. The liner is then fit into the inside of the bag so it will hang perfectly. After the liner is in the straps with D-rings are sewn into the top sides.
Here is the finished bag hanging on Julienne's chair.
Julienne at her office, where she sells wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Fabric and other things
I just had to share this image that bchand sent me. It brought a chuckle to my face. At the same time, I agree. Fabric can really spruce up a space.
I'm sorry I haven't shared any pictures of what I've been working on for so long. Mostly, I've been working on embroidering handkerchiefs as gifts, and a few other one-of-a-kind gift items. A special handbag I've been working on had been giving me trouble, and I finally finished it yesterday. It's a surprise present, and as soon as it's in the mail and received on the other end, I'll put up a photo.
Later on today, I'll put up some images of the handkerchiefs I've been working on. I will be offering monogrammed embroidered handkerchiefs on my price list of things I make. A 15" square linen hankie is $18.00, and a 12" square linen hankie is $15.00 I have a ton of different pattterns and thread colors available.
One reader here was asking about a bag to hang from the arm of their wheelchair. I've never made a bag like that before, but in the coming weeks I hope to get over to my girlfriend's house and measure her power wheelchair to see if I can design something stylish and inexpensive at the same time.
I'm sorry I haven't shared any pictures of what I've been working on for so long. Mostly, I've been working on embroidering handkerchiefs as gifts, and a few other one-of-a-kind gift items. A special handbag I've been working on had been giving me trouble, and I finally finished it yesterday. It's a surprise present, and as soon as it's in the mail and received on the other end, I'll put up a photo.
Later on today, I'll put up some images of the handkerchiefs I've been working on. I will be offering monogrammed embroidered handkerchiefs on my price list of things I make. A 15" square linen hankie is $18.00, and a 12" square linen hankie is $15.00 I have a ton of different pattterns and thread colors available.
One reader here was asking about a bag to hang from the arm of their wheelchair. I've never made a bag like that before, but in the coming weeks I hope to get over to my girlfriend's house and measure her power wheelchair to see if I can design something stylish and inexpensive at the same time.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Wheelchair Bags
About ten years ago, a very dear friend of mine developed transverse myelitis resulting in her being wheelchair bound. Ever since then I've made her a custom made wheelchair bag every Christmas. Here are some wheelchair bags I made one year for the annual WYNGS fund raiser, where my friend sits on the board of directors.
This is a medium weight tapestry wheelchair bag with external water bottle carrier. It's formally lined in a light weight nylon with two inner pockets. Hook & Loop Velcro® closure at the top, and adjustable Hook & Loop Velcro® straps on the top side edges.
This bag has a base of heavy upholstery velvet with an external overlaid pocket made out of Asian Silk. It's formally lined in a light weight nylon with two inner pockets. Hook & Loop Velcro® closure at the top, and adjustable Hook & Loop Velcro® straps on the top side edges.
This is a medium weight tapestry wheelchair bag. It's formally lined in a light weight nylon with two inner pockets. Hook & Loop Velcro® closure at the top, and adjustable Hook & Loop Velcro® straps on the top side edges.
Here is another bag made with a base of heavy upholstery velvet and an external overlaid pocket made out of Asian Silk. It's formally lined in a light weight nylon with two inner pockets. Hook & Loop Velcro® closure at the top, and adjustable Hook & Loop Velcro® straps on the top side edges.
This is a medium weight tapestry wheelchair bag with external water bottle carrier. It's formally lined in a light weight nylon with two inner pockets. Hook & Loop Velcro® closure at the top, and adjustable Hook & Loop Velcro® straps on the top side edges.
This bag has a base of heavy upholstery velvet with an external overlaid pocket made out of Asian Silk. It's formally lined in a light weight nylon with two inner pockets. Hook & Loop Velcro® closure at the top, and adjustable Hook & Loop Velcro® straps on the top side edges.
This is a medium weight tapestry wheelchair bag. It's formally lined in a light weight nylon with two inner pockets. Hook & Loop Velcro® closure at the top, and adjustable Hook & Loop Velcro® straps on the top side edges.
Here is another bag made with a base of heavy upholstery velvet and an external overlaid pocket made out of Asian Silk. It's formally lined in a light weight nylon with two inner pockets. Hook & Loop Velcro® closure at the top, and adjustable Hook & Loop Velcro® straps on the top side edges.
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