Introducing My Dice Bag

My dice bag is awesome.  I made it myself, and it has served me rather well for several years and shows no sign of stopping.  My previous bag, made by an old friend, was great, but ultimately became too small.  I had to expand.

When my dice collection started to grow past a couple of basic polyhedral sets to something that has developed into ungodly ("Well, I've got 15 d10, may as well even it out for each size, that would be good for my odds...", "Oh, that's so pretty!  I need it!", "Shit, now my counts are uneven, time to sort that out again..."  Wash.  Rinse.  Repeat.) I knew that I must take matters into my own hands.

And what better way to store dice, than in a giant die?  I had seen die-shaped dice bags before online, and beyond knowing that such a thing existed, I didn't use any other reference than an actual d10 (I like their shape best out of all the polyhedrals).



I drafted the pattern on a piece of cardstock with only a straight edge, making a guess at the angles.  I think once you've got the basic shape, you're set, and anyway that's how I roll.  No formal training in stitchery beyond 7th grade home-ec and a friend showing me how to do a double crochet stitch.  I follow patterns only insomuch as to determine what goes where; after that I just wing it.

 

That's on a fabric board with 1"x1" squares, so we're looking, over all, at about 6.5" at the widest point, and 8" high.

A single pattern piece, as cut, looks like so: 

 

And just so you can look at the badassery of the fabric (cotton in this case, from my friendly local fabric store) and marvel in its awesomeosity, here's a close up:

 Yeah, that's paisley AND skulls.  What?  Pretty much the only skull fabric I've ever seen that wasn't pirate or rock 'n' roll themed.  I arrived at the store hoping for something evocative of Doctor Who, and left (a-duh) with this instead.  I'm only sad I didn't buy more, as in all of it, since I have never seen anything like it since.  I still look every time I'm in there.

I put several layers of interfacing to give it shape, as well as a layer of clear vinyl - you never know what might get spilled in or on your dice bag, or in what conditions you might be playing.  I am nothing if not a responsible gamer.

(Yes, I know, it isn't the biggest collection, but believe me when I say I intend to change that.)  The zipper spans all but two "facets" on each half.

I used a length of spare black velvet ribbon for the handle, enough that I can slip it onto my wrist.  Run-of-the-mill sticky-backed fabric numbers went on each "facet", again using an actual d10 as reference for placement.

When I first finished it, and it was free of dice, it held its shape perfectly, and I could roll it about to the great amusement of a couple of little kids we gamed with (well, with their parents).

Over time, with lots of use, abuse, and an ever increasing weight of dice, it has rather fallen out of shape and lost some digits...

Once I am settled into my new sewing room, I intend to do an overhaul on it, using either heavy-weight interfacing, or plastic canvas to re-shape it.  Maybe both, because I'm hardcore.

To do list for bag improvements:
- Purchase new numbers and affix them better
- Disassemble and reinforce with stiffer inner-stuff
- Do a proper pretty lining (the vinyl will still serve its protective purpose underneath)