Inspired by a little craft from my years in the Girl Scouts, and the desire to have a few ready-to-go camping items available to pack up for spur of the moment trips, I made these netted mess kits. It was super fast and easy with just a few items. It makes it easy to pack dishes and after washing it is a place to hang them for fast drying out in the woods!
Materials:
-White mesh fabric (At least 1/2 yard to work with)
-Cording or thick yarn (about a yard)
-Thread
-Sewing machine
-Camping dishes
Step One: Sew the right side
The bottom of the bag will be the fold already in the fabric, so we need to sew the sides and the edge that the cording will go into. I sewed the right side together first, then placed the dishes onto the fabric to cut it to size.
Where the scissors are is the top of the bag, and if you look closely you can see the right side is already sewn. But do not sew the left side up yet, because you need to sew the top edge into a loop where the cording will go first.
Step Two: Sew the top loop
In the picture above I trimmed a couple inches off the top of the bag. Now you will fold down the top edge about an inch and sew it down, making sure all the raw seems are inside the bag. The yarn in the picture below is to show where the cording will go.
Step Three: Sew up the left side
With the bag inside out, you will sew up the left side to complete the bag, but stop a half inch from the top, so you don't sew up the loop's opening where you will feed the cording through. Make sure you reinforce the area you are sewing near the loop openings, so it won't tear open. Now turn the bag right side out and you are ready to feed the cord through the top loop.
Step Four: I used thick tape and Gorilla Glue to secure the two ends of the cording, but you could use almost anything. Add dishes and hit the road!
What every good crafter needs in her supplies:
xoxo
