Don't go too crazy with cording. 10 oz duck will be plenty strong with
the handle around the bottom. I'm still using two shopping bags I made
years ago from a friend's stash of curtain fabric. She even had orange
webbing to go with the green and orange paisley fabric.
I like Ginger's idea about thread ends. People are great like that. I
once got a huge bunch of roll ends of ribbon from a florist's shop for
an elementary school classroom project.
Liz

On 6/26/2016 2:20 AM, Night Mist wrote:

I am planning on taking some stuff to the Christmas craft fair this
year.

Bunch of toys, the dolls I had a blast making, some animals that
came out of my knitting frenzy. The half a bajillion jumping jacks,
climbing bears, and other mechanical and pseudo mechanical wooden
toys that I made a few manic phases ago, and spent a while painting
(the painting is the funnest part).

A couple of scroll saw bowls I made just to prove I could. Some
jewelry, some paintings, a couple of sculptures I made to test
materials. Spare aprons, a couple of T-shirts, more beads than I
thought I had made, macrame, tatting, lace, and crochet.
Antimacassars, bookmarks, tablecloths,and a mantilla in tape lace.
All the odds and bobs that have been building up for a while.

It occurred to me that selling shopping bags at such a venue might
be a good idea. So I have dug out about 7 yards of 10 ounce duck
that I had gotten long ago, and started laying plans. I am thinking
that I will keep it simple and just tie dye the stuff.

My current design is two pieces of fabric, front, back, and bottom,
and sides and bottom. Then use the single loop style of handle. So
they will have a double bottom, and a handle that wraps all the way
around, top down around the bottom and back to the top. Do you think
that cording the seams would be gilding the lily, or in keeping with
my apparent mad striving for sturdiness?

The big question is what thread to use. If it were for me to keep, I
would just use jeans thread and have done. However as I am going to
be selling (or trying to sell) these and top stitching is involved,
I have concerns. Most jeans thread is a poly blend and does not dye
for beans, ditto upholstery thread. Finding either in neutrals
locally appears to be difficult, unless you want to buy a barrel of
it from the upholsterer. I used to be able to get undyed heavy
cotton thread, but all the place has anymore are blends. I am on the
verge of going for nylon upholstery thread because I have found that
in varying shades of ecru and grey.

Watcha think? Know a good online place for heavy cotton thread, or
do you think neutral nylon is the way to go?

NightMist I could darn near open a shop. *Makes a note to find out
how big a table I can have.*