Heavy Duty Difficulty: 3/10. Requires basic sewing skills, sewing equipment and space to work.
I created for folding winter camping wood stoves to keep soot out of vehicles, and snow out of the stove while on the trail. This took two hours to make and will take two yards of fabric plus a few other odds and ends that I'll explain further into this entry. With an "HD" difficulty score of a 3 out of 10, with a little bit of patience and a home sewing machine, this bag will be easier than you think to replicate. Give it a try!
Finished bag -
Bill of materials:
2 yards of 1000D Cordura or 10oz Canvas. 1yd each for contrasting colors if you so choose.
30 inches of 2" wide nylon webbing for the carrying handles
60 inches of 1" wide nylon webbing for the cinch straps
(2) - 1" wide side release nylon buckles
Polyester thread
Step One- Cut your panels out.
(1) Main panel 25" x 40"
(2) End panels 13" x 14"
(2) End flaps 10" x 14"
(2) Side flaps 11" x 25"
(1) Glove pocket 12" x 13"
(I made two at the same time)
Step Two- Hem your side flaps, end flaps, and pocket.
Single fold hem on 3 sides of the side flaps, end flaps, set aside. 1/2" size.
Single fold hem the two 12" long sides of the pocket and one 13" side of the pocket. Once done, double fold hem the last side of the 13" long side pocket, this will be the top. 1/2" size.
Set panels aside.
Step Three- Cut 2" nylon webbing for handles
Cut equal 15" pieces of 2" wide nylon webbing, create a mark at 5" and at 10", fold the nylon webbing in half width wise. This will create a 1" wide stiff handle that will be easier to grab. Sew a "box" in the webbing, nothing critical here and is completely optional. Set aside.
Step Four- Sew pocket onto end panel.
With the nice edge facing out on the panel place it against the coated side of the end panel. with 2" on each side and 3/4" from the bottom sew the pocket in place. There will be intentional overlap on the bottom of the pocket, this will allow for volume within the pocket, overlap the seam and sew right through it.
Step Five- Sew end panels to main panel
center the 13" wide side of the end panel along the 40" wide side of the main panel. Face the nice side of both panels together and run a seam 1/2' from the edge. Flip the whole panel over and fold the end panel the other direction that the nice side on both panels is facing up, run a seam 3/8" from the first seam. This will create a semi felled seam. Do the same for the other side.
Step Six- Sew in carry handles and the four sides of the bag.
Turn the bag inside out (shiny side out) and run a seam on all four corners with 1/2" seam allowance. While you're doing that, make a mark 8" from the base of the box, this is where the bottom of each side of the carry handle will be placed. Sew the handle and the panels together. Turn the bag to the nice side out, run a seam 3/8" from the first seam towards the center, this will finish out the box and apply a semi felled seam to the four corners. Now it's starting to look like a wood stove bag!
Step Seven- Sew in side flaps
Mark the center of the flaps and the center between the corners of the "box" at the top. This should be 24" center on the box (minus two 1/2" seams on 25" panel). Mark the center of the side flap, this should be 24" as well. With the nice sides of the box and the flap facing each other, run a seam 1/2 from the edge. Repeat this on the other side of the box with the remaining side flap. Sew the end flaps on the same way, center each panel up on the box and run a seam with the nice sides facing each other 1/2" from the edge. You'll get something looks a little like this. Notice the marks on the side flaps, you need to sew in the nylon webbing in between both panels. Make a mark that shows the webbing at 6.5" from each edge. Sew one male side release buckle first, fold 12" of 1" wide nylon webbing in half place the buckle through the webbing and run the seam across. Down further on the side panel run a 24" piece of nylon webbing through the seam. repeat the same step on the other side, make sure you're doing the opposite so the straps will not have to cross in an X pattern. See sketch for clarity.
Step Eight- Sew the finishing seam around the perimeter of the bag.
Finish out the bag with a semi-felled seam around the top edge of the bag. Do this by having the nice side of the flaps and the bag facing up and pull them tight, sew a 3/8" seam along the previous seam.
Step Nine- Hardware and finishing touches.
Add the male half of the side release buckles to the long strap on each side. Fold the end of each long section of the 1" wide nylon webbing and make a seam across to hide the edge. This step is strictly optional but it leaves a nice finished touch. Trim off any extra thread and admire a job well done! Here's some more pics of the finished bag.
If you have any ideas to improve this design, questions or if you want to share your own build from this how-to please comment below. Thanks for visiting.