Hello there! Today I’m excited to share about what I’m calling a ripstop pouch parade. I love ripstop fabric and appreciate that Minerva carries multiple colors and fabric base options within the ripstop category.

I have to confess that the initial inspiration was finding ways to enjoy my leftover fabrics from the reversible ripstop vest that I made with Minerva in February.

In case you’re not familiar with ripstop fabric, I thought I’d share a definition from Wikipedia:

“Ripstop fabrics are woven fabrics, often made of nylon, using a special reinforcing technique that makes them resistant to tearing and ripping. During weaving, (thick) reinforcement yarns are interwoven at regular intervals in a crosshatch pattern.

Advantages of ripstop are the favorable strength-to-weight ratio and that small tears can not easily spread. Fibers used to make ripstop include cotton, silk, polyester, and polypropylene, with nylon content limited to the crosshatched threads that make it tear-resistant.”

The ripstop that I used for these projects also includes a water resistant layer added to the fabric.

Another inspiration for this project was from hiking, boating, and camping gear. I love items that have a dual purpose. I enjoy pouches and bags and find them handy to use and also to give as gifts. I love that ripstop is lightweight and also sturdy. One example of a dual purpose feature is with a roll-top dry bag. It can hold clothing and the bag also be used as a pillow when camping. Although I’m not an avid hiker, boater, or camper I appreciate the dual purpose details in their gear.

In today’s post, I’ve made four projects that I’ll be sharing about:

Drawstring Stuff Sack

Patchwork Stowe Bag

Roll-Top Dry Bag

Water Bottle Carrier

I used a walking foot, buttonhole foot and zipper foot with the machines mentioned above.

Supplies (for all four projects)
70/10 Microtex needles
Ripstop fabric - 1m Red, 0.6m Navy, 0.6m Black
(0.5m+ ) cording
Fabric clips
Pinking shears
Spray bottle (filled with water)
Small Towel
Batting
Walking foot
Safety pin 3/16” wide
Navy all purpose sewing thread
Awl
(2) Cord toggles
(4) cones navy serger thread

Before sewing each of the four projects, I tested the right and wrong sides of the ripstop. The fabric base includes a water resistant layer. The right side of the fabric has a spherical water beading action that occurs when you spray water on it. I prefer to test both sides of the fabric to easily see which is the right side. Reference the photo below to see the water bead profile on both the right and wrong sides of the fabric. The fabric in the lower right corner is the right side of the fabric (with the spherical beads).

After I sprayed water on each side of the fabric, I used a small towel (mentioned in the supply list) to wipe off the fabric.

Continued in my next post...

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