I know this must be an easy thing to make but I saw on a Dan Harlan tape where he uses a bag to ditch his stuff— he says you can make one but never states how.

Can someone point me in the right direction?

I appreciate the help.

I also saw the Dan Harlan tape that you are referring to.

What I did was drill two small holes on each side of my table...and bend a hanger to form a loop between the holes.

I then went to the store and bought a cloth bag with a draw string top used for laundry.

I then threaded the bag on my hanger and tada!!! I now have a bag that attaches to the edge of my table. Cheap and easy!

Of course since I first made this I have made some improvements to the design, like sewing a new bottom on the bag so it is only one foot deep. I also made the holes at the far left and far right edges of my table and cut the hanger down so that now the bag opening is 4 inches across from me to the table and covers the whole length of the back of the table!

Right now I am working on a way to make the bag hang 2 inches lower then the table. So I can use some shelf slots I have on the edge of my table!

Hope this helps! Good Luck!

Mark,

Thanks for the information, that sounds a whole lot better than having a square yard of black fabric sitting around and not knowing how to even sew.

I have a bag made from a fake leather type of material. You can get the material from just about any fabric shop. It is leather like on the outside and cloth on the inside. This will hold its shape fairly well. What I did was cut a piece about 30 inches and folded it up about 12 inches and sewed the edges. This allows the bag to hang down 6 inches below the top of the table. I hope this is a good description. If not you can PM me and I will try and explain it better.

One idea would be to go to the laundry area of a store (Wal-Mart, etc...) and look at the "clothes pin bags". I was there this evening as I need to make a ditch bag too.

Their clothes pin bags are only about 11 inches in diameter but have a wire in the mouth to hold them open. It is fairly deep and could easily be modified if you need it more shallow. It would be nice to find one in black, but the closest color to that was navy blue. I suppose one could simply cover the outside with black felt or something...

Anyway, it's an idea that I will try as I think I can get by with the 11 inch diameter. Hope this helps someone.

Magicbytim and Mdspark,

Thanks for both your ideas. I am going to go to Wal Mart today and check out the laundry bags. This helps as I am not really good at sewing things (I am all thumbs when it comes to that).

Quick tip.
Go to your local dry cleaner. They have nylon bags there perfect for ditch bags.
They have the gromet holes and a draw string!
Perfect.
I picked mine up for about $4.00 a bag.
Before I found the nylon bags I always used a black pillow case.

I cut off one leg of my son. I mean, I cut off one leg of my 9 year old son's sweat pants and tied the end off and use it as a ditch bag.

Okay, for the non-sewing type, with the black fabric about, you can use hot glue (it was originally used in the fabric industry, or a thin iron-on version of hot glue called Stitch Witchery.

These things will not take the washer for too many trips, but unless you are ditching full tummy bunnies, it should not be an issue. HINT: You can use the iron to flatten out the hot glue bumps in something you have glued together, and do follow the directions on the stich witch or heat fusible product, i.e do not iron the stuff directly unless you want to buy a new iron.

This is how I make my servante, and the rectangle bag in my table top. For wires, I want a bit of strength, so I use stainless steel welding rods from a local welder. He has several sizes (diameters) so I pick one I can bend in my little vise, and make the shapes I need. Mash the ends a bit flat with a hammer so things do not spin, and poke them into little drilled holes. Add a big rubber band or mini bungee on a hook to keep the bits tight and away I go!

I think what you are referring to is called a servante. You might be able to find information on them at your public library.

Thanks everyone I am using the clothes pin bag idea.

Also check out the collapsible spring loaded clothes hampers while at Wall Mart. My latest dump box is a priority mail box covered in fabric (from Wal-Mart) at $1 a yard. Looks great.
Pat Page borrowed it at Abbott's to use in his act.
Richard

My ditch bag is made from a plastic pool rack. I sewed a felt bag to the rack, attached a velcro lip to one side of the rack. It attaches to the side or back of my Lefler suitcase table. It hold several props and is great for secret ditching as well. If you don't sew , you could use Liqui-stitch , a white glue for material. It dries in 30 minutes and is washable.
Darryl the Wizard

I use a knitting bag, that closes together like TV trays. Works great. Did not have to do a thing to it got it at K-Mart.