An Upcycle For Camping

This project started with a bag that I found snagged around a pole on the corner of campus as I cycled into work one very, very windy day.  It was originally the storage bag for someone's camp chair so it was a long and skinny bag.  As it was made of lightweight, washable, ripstop outdoor fabric I thought it might find a useful second life corralling the odds and ends of our camp kitchen.  The tin mugs, tablecloth, spatula, plates, etc.

It proved too long and narrow to be truly convenient for this purpose, what being designed for a chair and all.  (Go figure!)  Ever the idea man, Matt suggested cutting it in half to make two smaller-but-more-functional bags--a suggestion I promptly pounced upon.  

I was able to keep the original drawstring and then just had to sew the (new) bottom closed on the one bag.  On the other half I was able to keep the original bottom and just had to install a drawstring casing for the (new) top of the second bag.  I used a large wooden bead from my macramé stash as a cinch slider for the new drawstring.  I snipped the old shoulder strap for the chair bag off, leaving just the webbed nylon nub of where it was formerly attached (visible in the photo below).

The camp kitchen doodads are now much more conveniently stowed.  The smaller bags fit really well in the JamJar's storage space.  All in all, a very satisfactory upcycle.