Woolly Cocoon Bags

These bags are shaped on the loom, so they sew up with no cutting, no waste, no raw edges, and no bulky seams.

About this Project

Designer Emily Barth has a great appreciation for the subtle beauty of moths, which are so often overlooked compared to their flashier butterfly cousins. She chose three boldly patterned moths (ailanthus webworm, giant leopard, and virgin tiger moth) as inspiration for these boundweave zipper bags, which she thinks of as little cocoons for all the bits and bobs that you can store inside. The bottoms of the bags are different from the sides, mimicking the way many moths hide contrasting colors under their wings. Three-dimensional box corners are usually formed by folding and cutting fabric, but bulky boundweave does not lend itself to this method. She solved that problem by weaving each bag in an irregular shape on the loom. Not weaving selvedge-to-selvedge in the center section (which becomes the bottom of the bag) creates just the right shape to sew up with no waste, no raw edges, and no bulky seams.

Contents

• Project Instructions PDF
• Bag WIFs

Details

Structure
Boundweave on opposites.

Equipment
4-shaft loom, 12" weaving width; 6-dent reed; 5 stick shuttles.

Yarns
Warp: 8/4 cotton carpet warp (1,600 yd/lb; Maysville), Black, 134 yd.
Weft: 3-ply rug wool (100% wool; 660 yd/lb; Maurice Brassard), #99 Black, 150 yd; #90 White, 60 yd; #61 Sand, 40 yd; #14 Orange, 30 yd; #84 Brick, 15 yd; #47 Turquoise, 13 yd; #72 Pale Grey, 9 yd. Note: Emily used Pumpkin, a discontinued color, for the base of the tiger moth bag. We’ve listed #84 Brick as a substitute, but anything in the gold-to-red range is appropriate, as tiger moth underwings vary in color.

Dimensions
Width in the reed: 11 ¹⁄₆".
Woven length: (measured under tension on the loom) 43" (includes unwoven warp between pieces). Finished size: (after assembly) three bags, 9" × 4 ¹⁄₂" × 2" each.

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