FEATURE
Improviser’s Toolbox: Measuring Tape
WINE TOTE
epper’s husband, Ryan McFarland is an
avid maker who, by his own admission
likes to salvage at the town’s dump
“almost every weekend”. On one such
outing, he scored 75 feet of measuring
tape, but struggled to create something with it.
Pepper took over the reins, and set about to weave
the metal strips into a tote bag. She first created the
base of the tote with 14 pieces of two and a half
feet strips, with seven strips placed horizontally, and
seven vertically. In hindsight she suggests others
don’t try to make a perfect square for the base.
She wove them through each other alternatively,
going under and over, and pushed them together to
make a tight weave. Pepper has detailed the entire
process of weaving the body of the tote, which is
the most time-consuming and physically exhausting
part of the process. Along the way, she also reflects
on the different steps, and how you can learn from
her mistakes. When she was done, Pepper trimmed
the rest of the strip and used epoxy resin to seal
the ends. To create the handle, she punched a hole
in a measured length of binding strip, and then
connected it to the bag using a rivet.P
PEPPER
JORDAN
Project Maker
Project Link
hsmag.cc/PvcdFF
Right
It took Pepper over
two hours to tediously
weave the tote. She
says it makes for
an unique gift, (but
remember to throw in
a bottle of wine too)