DYI

Like all things in our lives, we had a situation in our lives that became more complicated because of my brilliant idea that then evolved into a story in and of itself. Kind of cool one, though the resolution was not what I had intended. We have been asked (required?) to protect the kid’s hockey game jerseys when we’re in transit, and this means covering them with some sort of protective layer, i.e., a garment bag. Now anything will do, even a plastic garbage bag, but peer scrutiny comes into play (kid and parental, of course).

It turned out that there were many options, which of course is the bane of my existence. I really didn’t want to spend a lot of money, and if anything, I didn’t want to spend any money, if possible. There are expensive options, but truth be told, I don’t think it’s as cool walking into a locker room when you’re the only kid with a fancy garment bag. Some people might like this idea, but not me.

We obtained these free plastic garment bags from JCPenney, and they worked fine for the first few games, protecting the jerseys from mud and dirt, but like all things cheap and easy, both of the kids’ bags broke. N’s tore, and A’s zipper came unhinged. Total bummer, but not unexpected. Now we had to come up with another solution. I searched the Web for options, but it really boiled down to two: either buy a nice bag and drop $50-60 (ouch!), or buy a cheap one and face the same old problems.

I decided on option #3, which was to make one. This meant we could get a good quality bag in a material of our choice, and best of all, it would inevitably come with a story. Now for the record, I had every intention of making this bag (someone out there is saying, “No, you weren’t.”), even if I have never used a sewing machine in my life. If need be, I was would have hand sewn the thing, which I do have extensive experience doing.

Either way, it was  project, and I knew the kids could help, because they know how to use the sewing machine and could teach me. Once I got the hang of it, I could practice and then get it done. It might not be right away, but it would have gotten done. Unfortunately, we had some time constraints, because the kids have games every weekend, and I’m sure they wanted the bags ASAP.

Enter mom to the rescue. She said she would be happy to help, but probably could sense my ineptitude and was also aware of the kids eagerness for getting it done, so she stepped in and said she would make the bags. We all headed over to Joann’s to get the supplies. They were very helpful and encouraging, and the one person there who actually taught beginning sewing said garment bags were an easy first project.

I sort of had a vision of how I’d do it, but having no experience with a sewing machine, wasn’t sure if it was the logical choice. In fact, R had other ideas, and after choosing fabric, zippers (we got heavy duty quality ones) and all that other good stuff, she went to work. The kids helped make spools and dobbins and cut the patterns, and mom did most of the sewing. She worked tirelessly because even though there wasn’t a deadline, the kids would have been happier to have them by their next game, which was only days away.

R did a beautiful job, better than I could have done, and the bags came out nicely. We paid a little more than we would have for some cheap plastic thing made in China, but a lot less than a more ostentatious piece of luggage. More importantly, it was handmade and personalized, and we can be sure of the quality. Plus, it was a fun project that we all took part in as a family.

As we all know, you can’t put price on that. Until the next time, thanks for reading.