Make Your Own Net Bag!

Intro: Make Your Own Net Bag!

My first instructable!

I have made nets for various projects around the house, Including a storage place for stuffed animals, bottle covers and the like, even a shirt once.

For this instructable I will be making a net bag. 

Living with other people and not wanting them to use up all my shampoo and soap, I made this nifty net bag to haul all my toiletries to and from the shower!

This bag is large enough to hold three bottles of shampoo, bottle of face wash, soap, and a razor with room for more due to its ability to stretch.

Enough jibba jabba, let's get started!

STEP 1: ...What You Will Need...

First you will need the supplies of course...

1 piece of scrap wood  (for a 'loom' if you will)
Cordage of your choosing.  (I used Jute 3 ply 28lb)
Screws, Nails or Some form of fastener.
1 Shuttle (Optional)


Just a suggestion before starting, get some gloves or some kind of finger tip protection.
After 3 hours of knotting a net your finger tips may become rather sore, moreso with the natural fibers such as jute or hemp. Nylon paracord or some nylon string is easier on t he hands.

STEP 2: ...Setting Up Your 'Loom'...

Setting this up is rather simple.

Start by putting four screws into the corners of your board and leave about 1/4 inch protruding.
Also, put a screw mid-point on both the top and bottom for more support later.

Once you have all the screws in, take some cordage and place it around the screws making a large square and then secure it tighlty by tying the ends together.

On to step 3...

STEP 3: ...The 'Knot'...

Here is the knot, the only knot you will need for this project.

It is called a larks head knot, if the picture is not clear enough for you to see how to do it. Here is a video.

Make friends with it you will be doing alot of these!

To start just get yourself a good length of cordage, about 6-9 feet.
Tie one end to whatever corner you want to start from and then decide how big you want your net holes.

On mine, the knots are roughly 1 inch apart, but you can make them as small or as large as you please!

On the second image I wanted to show the end of a row, is just like all the other loops, but is attached to the side with the larks head knot and then started on the second row.

STEP 4: ...Keep on Tying...

Here's a photo of about half way through I stopped for some refreshments, and to give my finger tips a break.

If this hasn't gotten tedious yet it will :D. The end results are worth it though I feel.

Keep on tying!

STEP 5: ...Finishing the Net...

Here as before you will use the larks head knot but this time you will do one on both sides from the net to the cord on the 'loom'.

Once you get it all secured just give it a good granny knot on the end so it doesn't come untied.

Remove your new net from the screws and there you go!

In the second image I took the lighter and burnt all the excess fuzz that accumulated from tying all the knots, and removed any excess string from ends for a nice neat appearance.

STEP 6: ...Making the Bag

Now for making the bag,  Fold your net in half onto itself (like closing a book) and match up all your sides and ends.

Once you have them together get yourself about 3 foot of cord for both sides, and tie it to one of the corners, and again here we go with the larks head or any other knot if your sick that one! :D

Make the larks head knot around the strings on the sides wrapping them together all the way down both sides.

Once you have your sides finished you can weave a draw string through the open top, and top it off with a wood bead (as shown) or anything else that strikes your fancy!

If you make one of these post me some pics I would love to see your creations!

               !~ Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed this, my first Instructable~!

Comments

[okgasdude]

Thanks for the instructable dude! Used it to make a net for the soccer goal I made from PVC for my kiddos!

[jakeb164]

b

[cbaldwin5]

As net freak, I'm impressed by board simplicity and burn off threads at end. Waytago!

[The Metal One]

if you want perfect loops cut a knot gauge from cardboard, wood, or plastic. depending on size you want, make it proportional (1x6, 2x12, etc) to make keeping accurate mesh easy

[Royal Jade]

This is GREAT! I think I might make a bunch for Christmas bags or just shopping bags. =D Thank you so much for sharing. Hopefully I'll be able to make some soon.

[mutantpoptart]

Sharing is caring lol These are good for just about everything :D

[meghitch]

Thanks so much for this instruction! I had no idea how to make a net, and this was super helpful.

[meghitch]

I’m making nets as a meditation practice, using embroidery thread. Thanks for the great tutorial! :)

[mutantpoptart]

Cool, Love the colors! This can get pretty trance like with the repitition might have to try it one day as meditation. Don't have any string or twine at the moment. Moved recently and got rid of almost all my hobby stuff. Sitting here twiddling my thumbs lol.

[meghitch]

Thanks! :) Twiddling thumbs is meditative... :)

[mutantpoptart]

Good to see people still finding this useful after all these years! Care to share what you're making?

[jtalaiver]

This is an awesome first instructable... I am headed to the basement now to work on my own net bag...not even sure what it will hold yet but I want to weave one now! How about the shuttle I didn't see any posts about that...might make my own...

[jakeb164]

hi

[mutantpoptart]

I'm glad you like my insctructable! I tried my best to make a good one. :D As for the shuttle, I don't have one myself but, they are a big help. With a shuttle you could make this entire net much faster, and possibly with one piece of cordage instead of many like I used. Making your own would be best, I have searched for them in the local craft stores and the ones they carry are tiny plastic things that will no doubt break, and are not well suited for large projects. Here is an easy one to make... (see picture) If you have trouble with the sizing of your loops, you can use a flat piece of wood turned vertical inside the loop to keep them all at a uniform size. as before I did not use one of these either I just eyed them. Anyhow, I would love to see some pics of your finished bag and thank you for the nice comment!

[jtalaiver]

HERE IT IS!! Ok so first I tried with some nylon and synthetics... ended up finally getting around to some natural fibre and got a great result... i still need to weave into bag configuration but it is an epic net... :)

[mutantpoptart]

NICE! Thanks for the picture! You ever made nets before? Is a really good job, my first nets looked like a drunk fisherman tied them!

[jtalaiver]

Well my first attempt was with the synthetic ropes which at least for me the knots didn't stick so well... But otherwise this was the first attempt... I did use my British army knife as a shuttle and that did help

[EmmettO]

How long is the shuttle pictured? I could blacksmith that shape pretty easily. It's a double ended two prong fork without the tines bent out.

[mutantpoptart]

That particular shuttle is about 8 inches, you could make it smaller or larger depending on your needs.

[EmmettO]

Cool! I always wanted to know how to make nets. Criminals beware!