C:/TOTE

A tote bag made of 5.25" floppy disks. It can carry bulky objects and at least 15 pounds for extended periods of time. Great for shopping or any of your general toting needs.

These are what you will need, how much they cost me and how little it could cost you
18 5.25" floppy disks: $20.00 for 100 on eBay or free, salvaged
2X15.75"X16.25" canvas: $3.00 scrap canvas at art store or free, salvaged
Tape: $1.00 for two rolls PVC tape (any kind will do) or free, salvaged
Sewing machine: Free, I'm sure a friend of yours has one.
2X1.5' Cotton or nylon webbing: $0.50 army surplus store or free, salvaged
8 nuts and 8 bolts: $5.36 (acorn nuts are expensive) or free, salvaged
Drill, Bore, awl, knife or other hole punching device: Free, I'm sure you have one

I spent money on this project because I'm turning it in for an art project and because it's a prototype. However now that I know How to make them they will cost me next to nothing to produce. I'm passing the instructions for a free tote bag on to you

Align the disks in a three by three square with the seams facing up.

Tape the disks together. Don't worry about looks because there will be a layer of canvas covering it (You may need more tape than shown in the picture.)

Carefully flip your square of disks over and line it up with one of your rectangles of fabric leaving a half inch of excess on the side you plan to be the top. Then begin sewing the floppy disks to the fabric.

You should set the sewing machine to be making some kind of wide stitch which will cover the seams between the disks, this saves time, energy and thread compared to sewing on each disk individually.I have compiled a few possible stitches. When you are finished with the disks fold over that extra half inch to make a hem.

You have completed one half of the tote body, now create the other half. The reason I didn't do it all on one long piece of fabric is because floppy disks are not flexible enough to fold up in the sewing machine

Now that you have both sides, neat and trim. line them up and sew them together along the three unhemmed edges . Remember to use the backstitch on areas of high stress such as the opening and on the corners.

Here is what the body of the tote bag should look when finished

See my instructable for a MacPack for tips on salvaging straps from backpacks. Align where your handles will be (I suggest just outside the middle disk), and mark their positions or stick them there with pins or tape.

Drill or poke your holes. I suggest using a knife to cut a small X in the webbing where you want the holes rather than drilling through the straps which won't work. Then simply attach the straps with your nuts and bolts. Do this for all four strap ends and you are ready to enjoy your bag.

Initially I started this project using only floppy disks and no canvas backing, then I realized that the bag would be much stronger with it. I had to go slow during the end when I really wanted to be finished with the project; However, I needed to stitch slowly so as not to damage the needle due to so many layers of plastic and canvas. Also as you can see, the holes make perfect places for buttons. I took the bag on a test run, carrying roughly 15 bulky pounds for a day with no complaint.

I made this bag out of a combination of a want to create and a want to eliminate plastic bags because our dogs do not defecate enough to necessitate so many. I see people with these canvas or mesh shopping bags and decided to make a derivation of my first instructable using only materials that could be free or cheap for others to obtain. I did this so as to reduce the amount of products in the landfills and to entice other people into creating their own.

I would like to thank instuctables for hosting an outlet for me and so many others, and I would like to thank kiln_brick for letting me use his camera and sewing machine.