easter, the day of DIY. sewing, stoves, and questions (with pics)

[sploiz]

i've had my sewing machine for about 2 weeks now. i've had time to play around with all the knobs and switches and try to make a straight stitch. i tried to make a square bottom sack last week and that was a total failure. cut a square and sew the sides on, i had no clue what i was doing but it made for good practice and seam ripping. i have just been trying to make simple sacks but haven't really been sure how to sew the seams of the sack. so i went around my house inspecting all the other bags i had and it looked pretty easy. then i was browsing tothewoods.net homemade gear section and saw one of his square bottom bags and the light just went on in my head, i can do that!

i'm trying to make a sack for my cook kit.

http://i.imgur.com/VpMZBqF.jpg

it turned out a bit large, but it works. you can also see the lid i made for the imusa 12, i still need to put a handle on it. did that right before making the bag. you also get a glimpse of my helper off the the left. i also found the need for a pin cushion, instead i stuck a magnet under the lid of the altoids can.

http://i.imgur.com/YkrseTe.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/BEr5K4E.jpg

those 2 are of the stiching. i did rough measurements so you can see some pieces have a lot of overlap.

once i got done i was happy but i knew i could do better. i made better measurements and straighter cuts.

http://i.imgur.com/984t6V5.jpg

there they both are side by side. the 2nd try is on the right and my helper is inspecting the first one. its a little smaller than the first but not much. i think i left too much seam allowance.

and while i was at it, i also made 2 new stoves and marked ounce lines on my fuel bottle. earlier in the week i cut 3 sections out of a aluminum bud bottle. hair spray really does wonders for working with the fiberglass cloth, that made it so much easier. i'll get to test the stoves after work today.

http://i.imgur.com/qKgmggF.jpg

the whole days work all together. my whole cook kit weighed in at 12 3/4 ounces. it includes the bag, imusa 12 with cozy and lid, a smaller 18 oz cup with cozy, stove, empty fuel bottle, and spork.

i'm just wondering about the stitching. is this ok or is there a better way to do it?

i had more questions, but i can't remember them. i've wasted enough time making this post, i should get to work.

[Redoleary]

Those look good, it just takes practice.
I've got two videos on my youtube channel for making stuff sacks, one is a regular stuff sack and one is a compression sack. My youtube is linked in my signature. I do tend to use a grommet for the drawstring but there are many ways to skin that cat. Hope that helps. (sorry for not providing the direct links, but I'm feeling lazy today )