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Please feel free
to use this pattern for any personal non-commercial activity.
Machine or hand stitch your prefered number of small fabric
soap bags, attach handles and add hook & loop tale to secure the opening.
Add the soapnuts during your machine washes.
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The pattern offered here is
a result of the free muslin bags we received not really performing as
expected!
The first few washes involved us searching around for escaped nuts
over clothes, in the washing machine filter and in contrast not being
able to undo the string ties easily enough to open the bag and check inside!
This idea features hook & loop tape as the mecanism for securing
the soap nuts in place, and two pull handle tabs for easy opening and
checking.
Please enjoy & have fun knowing your soap nuts make for one
of the most eco-friendly ways to scrub-up clean :)
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Resources needed
Printout of the soap nut wash bag
Cotton, calico, muslin or
other fabric of choice
Access to a sewing machine
or needle and thread
10mm
hook and loop tape - cut 20mm tape in half
Soap nuts on amazon.co.uk
sapindus
on wikipedia & soapnuts.co.uk
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To make
Cut one whole body piece and 2 pull tabs
Make the pull tabs first by folding one long edge into the
middle.
------ then the other long edge to the middle.
------ then fold whole piece in half lengthways and sew in place
forming a long narrow strip
------ a hot iron helps to keep the fold lines in place.
------ repeat so there’s 1 pull tab for each side of the bag.
Create the hem area on the main bag by turn over and iron
flat both upper hem lines
Take the raw ends of one pull tab, bring them together and
using the hem lines as a guide, position on the bag where marked on the
pattern.
--------- sew securely in place.
--------- repeat on the opposite side of the bag.
-- 
Turn the hem lines outwards and sew in place, covering the
raw pull tab ends in the process.
Take the hook and loop tape and cut to fit each side of
the bag.
--------- sew securely to what will be the inside edge of the
bag
Finish up by folding the whole body piece in half – with
pull tabs on the inside & tape on the outside. --------- sew the
body the sides and bottom together and then turn right side out.
Add your soap nuts and secure the bag pening with the hook
& loop tape.
Open via the pull tabs on each side
Each finished bag measures approximately 12cm x 12cm
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Button count ..
A bag of 6ish soap nuts can be used 3-4 times before needing to
be composted/green-cycled.
It can be difficult to keep track of how many
washes each bag goes through, buttons or wooden draught pieces can
help! add 4x 40mm buttons to your soap nut bags then once the wash
has finished remove a button to indicate how many cycles the bag has left.
Use countdown items that you feel comfortable with - wood, fabric, plastic,
and that you are confident won't escape from the soap nut bag and cause
a blockage in your washing machine's filter.
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