We love to push the boundaries of what you can do with SOLIDWORKS. In this project we're taking another crack at using sheet metal commands to model something we're going to make using fabric! We had good success when we modeled our dust chute, and our good friend @RN has proven that you can use CAD to turn fabric into an amazing dress.
A few weeks ago, we went on an open studio tour and got to see the amazing creations of local artists and crafts people. One of the places we visited was Rag Hill Farm where we discovered these clever bowl cozies. Among other uses, they help keep your fingers safe from burning when you reheat food in the microwave.
We bought a few to use at home and were so happy with how they worked that we were inspired to see if we could make a few to meet a similar need.
When we bring leftovers to work for lunch, we usually pack them in one of our Pyrex containers. These variously sized rectangular vessels don't fit nicely into the bowl-shaped cozy, so we hopped into SOLIDWORKS to work out a design that would fit perfectly.
We started with a basic shape that matched the size of our most commonly used Pyrex container. Then we used the "convert to sheet metal" command to instantly transform it into the bottom and side pieces of fabric!
This allowed us to immediately visualize the flat pattern.
We used the "edge flange" command to make the side handles and to add material for the seam allowance. This is the extra bit of material that supports the unseen part of the seam.
We made a 1:1 scale drawing of the pattern, and although the whole thing didn't fit onto a single sheet of paper, a quarter of it did!, so we cut out the quarter pattern and used it to cut out a piece of fabric that we folded in half twice.
Then we started the process of sewing everything together! First we attached a layer of batting that will act as the insulating barrier between the container and your hands.
Then we sewed on the second layer of fabric. We used a completely different piece of fabric to add visual interest and drive home the idea that the cozy is reversible.
We used a light colored thread in the spool and a dark thread in the bobbin so that each could blend nicely with their respective side of the fabric.
When @CO showed me this, I have to admit, my mind was blown! I've only ever sewn by hand, so the idea that you could have different color thread on each side of the seam was astonishing. I'm sure that if you're familiar with sewing machines, this concept is fairly basic, but I guess I never fully understood how the whole mechanism worked, and that the thread from the bobbin is viewable from one side of the seam while the thread from the spool is viewable from the other side. I find this so cool!
Once everything was sewn together, we tested the fit and then jumped back into SOLIDWORKS to add a bit more flair to the model. We added a few global variables to make it really easy to modify the Length, Width, and Depth of the shape and then built four configurations that match the sizes of Pyrex that we have at our house.
This was a great project that has further convinced us that SOLIDWORKS sheet metal tools are a good stand in for fabric design. Sure, they don't account for stretch or how fabric folds and can be scrunched, but they get you a long way towards figuring out the pattern you need to cut to make the thing you've imagined!
Check out this video to see the project unfold:
Feel free to download this PDF of the Pyrex flat patterns:
...and this Zip file of the native SOLIDWORKS part and drawing files that you can use to customize the design to any size you'd like!
OurNextMake
