chip wrapper purse instructions

Cut each potato chip bag into 2 X 4 1/2 ” pieces. Using a rotary cutter makes it fast. I use potato chip bags, cookie packages, ramen noodle packages, anything really. I've tried some heavy plastics but they are hard to slide into each other, they want to stick. With the large potato chip bags it only takes about 20 bags to make a whole purse. (I think, don't quote me on that, that's what I tried to figure out one time.
Cut magazine pages the same size as each chip bag piece. Each piece you fold will have a piece of magazine paper in it to make it very sturdy. You do not have to have paper in each piece when you fold, the difference is the thickness of the finished bag. I've made plenty without the paper inside and you can't tell the difference.

Folding instructions for each piece can be found at www.gumwrapper.com/build.htm …….. start with #3 on the instruction sheet because your pieces are already cut to size.

Once you have 60 wrapper pieces together you need to join them into a circle.

Take the first wrapper piece off and put into the other side by unfolding and putting the raw edges into the last chain (green piece in photo)









Follow the pictures........it's like your making the chain backwards.

I have to use a screw driver or something flat to push the piece down into the chain. Tuck the raw edges into the previous wrapper so it looks like the other wrappers in the chain.

SEWING ROWS TOGETHER

Each wrapper pice has has like a positive and negative on each side if you are looking down on top of the row. You will be fitting a positive against a negative so when you sew the rows together you have a continues up/down sewing motion.

photo of positive edge photo of negative edge

You can use a large eyes needle with a blunt tipto sew the rows together or make yourself a needle out of a credit card or some type of heavy plastic. Poke a hole in one end for the needle to tie your thread on. Just a strong knot will be fine. The size of the piece of credit card was cut 2 3/8 X 1/2. That seemed to work the best but you will need a needle to attach the zipper. I’ve tried several different kind of thread……..I don’t know that there is a wrong or right thread……..as long as it is very strong. The thread that I was using in the photos was a denim jean thread. It’s very strong and won’t break but it was so thin that it actually was like a knife and cut my wrapper. DMC floss worked fine, I found a doily crochet thread that worked. I checked into the fishing line that everyone talks about, it was catfish nylon and would not break but I can’t find any thin enough. It’s all just to thick. I’ve read lots of info of speculation on how these purses are put together……………..they are all sewn and NOT woven or folded together. I also light to use baby crochet yarn. It's a great thickness and won't break when it's pulled tight.

To begin sewing rows together….bring needle up thru any chain and back down the other side and tie a strong knot. (next 3 photos) You will weave your loose thread ends into the purse later. The beginning is the only time that you will tie your thread onto the purse. As you run out of thread, tie on with a square knot and continue sewing

Put two chains together as I described with the positive and negative. You will be sewing down thru a chain, over slightly to the right and down thru the next chain, up thru the next chain and down thru the next one. Follow the pictures………You will continue to do this until you get all the way around to where you began sewing.

Continue sewing in an up and down motion until you go all the way around. Make sure you pull the thread tight so you do not have any gaps or see the thread.

Once you go all the way around, you need to run your thread over the top of the purse rows to sew the other side of the purse. You will be sewing the inside and the ourside of your purse. Your purse will become very stiff as you pull the thread tight when sewing the chains together
photo showing running the thread over the top row to sew the other side of the purse.

add the next row.......remember to position positive to negative

SEWING THE BOTTOM

Squeeze the bottom together and start sewing. You will only be able to sew the outside of this row. There is not enough room on the inside of the purse to sew like you did on the other rows.

I can't really explain how to sew the bottom, but once you squeeze it together just start running your needle thru the rows to hold them together. It doesn't matter how many times you go around a square because you will never see the thread. The only place that you can see my thread is in the very corners. You will have to sew around the corners a couple of times to pull them tight. The bottom is harder to have a consistant sewing pattern because your sewing the positive to positive. You'll totally understand what I'm talking about once you begin sewing. :-)


Continue sewing along the bottom. You will be tucking in one wrapper square at each corner. Once you get it tucked in, it's not going anywhere because it's so tightly wedged in to the corner.

ADDING THE ZIPPER

Doesn't matter what type of zipper you buy..... just so it is long enough to go across the purse. You will cut the excess off when you are finished sewing onto the purse if it is to long.



Catch the very edge of the zipper and then run your needle down thru a chain and up the next one.



If you look really close at this picture, the needle is running down thru the chain of red wrapper with the yellow strip through it. The needle will come back up through the white chain.





This picture is a little blurry but what I'm trying to show is the needle coming back up the white chain. You will catch the edge of the zipper at every "v" around the chain.






Do both ends of the zipper like the picture. It doesn't really matter how long the zipper is because once you tuck the ends inside the purse you can cut the zipper off.

PUTTING ON THE HANDLE

Still working on the instructions for the ..............you'll just have to look at the pictures for now.