Bags

Its been two weeks since my last post and I've been able to experiment with different things and physically test some of my new bags. I decided to start with just working on the bag part of the design first to get a feel for the material strength of Tyvek and how it well it would collapse down.
Below is my first prototype. Its a modified design of Joanne L's strawberry reusable grocery bag design that you can find here. The bag has about double the volume capacity of a typical grocery store plastic bag and can shrink down into a keychain-sized pouch. When talking to users most people said that they have a hard time remembering to bring a reusable bag with them to the grocery so designing this keychain feature was important to me as an easy remembering device. I, myself, have a hard time being that organized before going to the store or sometimes it's an impromptu trip so I don't have reusable bags on me. I think the keychain aspect would work for some people but not for everyone because it is still is a bulky item on your keychain and would only allow you to carry a minimal amount of food.

This is what the bag looks like when it it unfolded from the keychian. The keys can then be easily tucked back into the flap of the pouch. This is pinched together with a simple zelcro fasten.

Second Prototype 

I wanted to make a slouchy sling bag because there is something comfortable about the form and I like that the weight can be distributed diagonally across the body. With this design I also wanted to experiment with how fragile items, such as bread, could be kept away from all other groceries to avoid damage. I sewed a small circular pouch (2 1/2 inches diameter) onto the outside of the bag. From the inside of the pouch outfolds a larger drawstring bag. The top of this bag is sown to the inside of the small pouch so the two can not become separated. To keep the drawstring bag from swinging freely there is a Velcro fasten on the bottom of the main bag.

 Going Shopping

I went to Kroger with my new bags. Although I used a car to get there I deliberately parked a block away so that I would have to walk and see how the bags handled the weight.
What I discovered is that Tyvek is very flexible and can stretch to take more food items than I was expecting- I was able to fit about a week and a half's worth of groceries into the two bags. However as soon as I had to walk with the weight I realized how Tyvek would never work as an overall material for the bags. Tyvek is so thin that when its put under weight pressure the straps bunch up and pinch to an isolated pressure point on your shoulder or hands. I could hardly make it to my car it was so uncomfortable  I also have to question why I ever thought the sling would be a good choice for a grocery bag. The bag kept obnoxiously hitting my leg with every step. It seems so obvious now that that was a bag decision  Needless to say, I learned a lot from the experience and I'm ready to move on with some new information.
Tyvek is durable, lightweight and collapses well but it is not suitable for strap material because of its thin nature and it also stains too easily to be an attractive grocery bag. Also, keeping fragile items outside the main bag is not the best way to protect them. Even though I thought the bread would stay pinned against the main bag it didn't take much for it to start swinging freely and therefore was not protected as all.

 These are the items that did not fit in my grocery bag design: large chip bag, frozen pizza, and a 1/2 gallon of apple cider.

During this next week I want to create my first prototype utilizing a wheeled trolley. I realized I had been avoiding the construction of the cart because I'm not sure how to tackle it and I thought I could figure out the bag portion first then upscale the design. Now I recognize both should be worked on in tandem. Mostly because of this conversation with my wonderful GSI:

"So you really want to do bags."
"No, not at all. I want to take the weight off the body"
"So why aren't you working on the cart part?"

"....I've been avoiding it?.."
"Uh huh."

Ok point taken. Thanks Jessica!  :)