Log Carrier

I had seen log carriers on the internet and in the Northline Express Catalog but didn't want to pay that much for one. Some are fairly inexpensive ($15 plus shipping) and some get more expensive ($58.00 plus shipping).

Vet2Be said, "Leave it to a farmer to get what they need by thinking creatively!"

I thought a log carrier was a great idea, but thought I could do something similar from a recycled canvas or heavy fabric bag. It would cost less and I would have the satisfaction of recycling and re-purposing something!

Since I had just given all my extra bags to the thrift store a few months ago, I headed back to the thrift store to see what I could find.

I looked for a bag that:

• was made of the same fabric that backpacks are made of
• had straps that went under the bottom of the bag
• had one seam on each side

This should work perfectly and it was only $2!

Here's how I recycled it to make a log carrier.

Since this bag had corner seams, I took those seams out.

The fabric is really thick so it was easy to use a utility knife to take the stitches out.

This is what it looks like after taking the corner stitches out.

Next I turned the bag inside out so I could take out the side seams. I could have cut the side seams off, but it was really easy to rip the stitches out of the fabric, so that's what I did.

Here's the bag with the side seams opened.

These straps were sewn into the hem at the top of the bag.  I needed to take out the stitches near the top so I could slip a support into the top hem. I only took out the stitches attaching the handle to the top hem. Then I sewed from left to right along the bottom of stitching on the hem (below the knife in the photo).

I happened to have a dowel on hand for the top support. This is my favorite way to cut a dowel--a pair of rose pruners!

One support dowel for each side.

I slipped the support dowel inside the top hem and folded over the raw edge at the side seam. Then I used a zig-zag stitch (with a heavy duty needle on my sewing machine) to hem the sides and keep them from fraying. I didn't double the hem--just folded it over once and used a zig-zag stitch.

I doubled the handles a little bit (about 10") because most log carriers have shorter handles.

Then I sent Vet2Be out to get wood for the fire.

He likes it much better than carrying the wood into the house in his arms!

It took me about 45 minutes to recycle the bag and turn it into a log carrier. 

I love to figure out ways to change something a little bit and use it for something else!