Tyvek Dump Pouch

Greetings!

I like to pick things up and take them home with me. I have for a long time. The thing is, clothing and apparel companies don't make pants with big enough pockets and I don't always have a back pack when I find something. I thought back to a time not too long ago when I was a military man, and remembered an item of equipment that I often had on me and available for use whenever I found something on the ground that I wanted. It was called a dump pouch.

A dump pouch was useful in many ways at the time, and still is I suppose. When leaving a chow hall you could fill it with fruit or a can/boxed drinks. It was used on a rifle range to put empty magazines in. Anything you had to carry, but didn't want to put it in your pocket went in the dump pouch.

I'm out of the military now, and when I'm just walking around I don't have my old dump pouch handy. Had to give it back to supply. So I decided to get one. Looked online and couldn't find one that was cheap enough.(I'm cheap as hell) I did have some tyvek around, and plenty of time, so I figured I'd make one. Here is how I did it.

Make sure to read the whole thing! There are some 'If I do this agains'

Things you'll need:

-Needle

-Thread

-Scissors

-A ruler

-A marker

-2 pieces of string/small rope that can be used as a draw string

-A cheap plastic place mat

-Snaps or velcro, for closing up the pouch

-A piece of wire that is long enough to draw the string through the sleeve you'll be making (optional, if you're good or patient enough to not need it)

-A piece of Tyvek large enough to make the pouch you want

-A roll of Tyvek tape (optional, but it's very helpful to have.)

I mentioned that the Tyvek tape was optional, but if you're using Tyvek for any project you'll want some of this stuff. The adhesive is made for Tyvek specifically, and you won't find a better way to get water proof seals.

When you use the marker to draw your guide lines, make sure you are drawing on the side that will be the inside of the pouch! I was lucky enough to be using a piece that had both sides mostly blank. It has a side that is white, and a side that has words on it.

The dimensions for the piece of Tyvek are in the picture. It's a 15 and 1/2" by 28" rectangle. I wanted a 12" by 12" pouch with a 2" width. I gave myself 3/4" for the sewing of the pouch, and 1" to sew the sleeves for the draw strings.

Sounds easy enough. However, you have to take into account how much overlap you have for these seams. The tape is just about 2" wide and I only had 3/4" of overlap. The extra 1/4" went over the guide line and made sewing it up easier. Do both sides, and you have the beginning of your pouch.

I'm not a tailor, but I can mend work clothes. I double up the thread for a stronger seam. First seam, go along your 3/4" guide line. the tape is semi-transparent so you should be able to go fairly quickly. Once you get near the bottom of the pouch, you'll need to make a cut so the 2" width can be sewn. There are a few ways to do this part, as long as you're able to close up that side of the pouch any technique will work. I used this way so any water that got in would spill out quickly. If you're not planning on lugging any rocks around, you shouldn't have to make a second seam all the way up. I do plan on picking rocks, so I made a second seam all the way back to the top.

Cut some of the material from the corners to make the draw string sleeves easy to use, but make sure you don't cut the ends of your pouch seams. Cut some more tape, then cut that bit in half long ways. This just saves you some tape since this seam wont be taking too much strain. Lay the tape down then lay the edge of the sleeve down on the tape, making sure that you have enough tape to make the sleeve. I had a 1" over lap, so after this step i had a 1/2" sleeve. Then sew along the bottom of that sleeve making sure you have enough room for your draw string, and so your draw string won't get gummed up by the tape after a while.

Get out that piece of wire. The only requirement for the wire is that it has to be able to pull the string through its sleeve. An old wire hanger with a small bent hook on one end is fine. I had some old bailing wire. Pull the string through the sleeves. It's your pouch, use how ever many strings you want. I used a double string method.

Don't let the many pictures scare you, this part is pretty simple. Take your plastic place mat and cut a piece that will snap or velcro together. I cut a 4" width so I can fold my pouch into 3rds and snap it. Mark where you want your belt loop to be. Make sure that the loop will be big enough for the belt you plan on using, and wide enough that it will support the pouch. Cut the loops, then mark where the holes for the sewing needle will go. If your place mat is flimsy enough you can skip this part and get right to sewing. This was more about aesthetics for me. Once you've completed that, put some tape over the seams you just sewed on the inside of the pouch. This will save the seam from wear when you've got a bag full of rocks.

You're done! Slap it on your belt and enjoy the next walk you take. Hope you get as much fun out of it as I will.

Some things that I would change for my next pouch:

-Use a wider piece of plastic for the belt loop.

Next time I'll go with 6" instead of 4". It may hold the pouch to my belt better without hanging open so much

-Use a stiffer piece of plastic for the belt loop

I'm cheap, but this just feels too cheap.

-Use velcro instead of a snap

Snaps can get dirty and not work right. They're also pretty finicky to install. Velcro tape is quick and can be sewed on.