One of our favorite materials is waxed canvas.
Each bag begins as as a roll of canvas fabric and once the pattern has been cut, the fabric is ready for the wax infusion. Today we spent the afternoon waxing yards of precut canvas in preparation for our green 13" macbook pro messenger. As fire is involved during the melting process, we always wax fabric outside, which tends to draw out the bees.
After adding all the ingredients and waiting for the mixture to liquify, it was time to begin.
There is a lot of anticipation when painting hot wax onto a fabric canvas, you never know what will be revealed until the wax has been infused into the fabric. Once dry, we are ready to begin sewing and the great thing about waxed canvas is the lines and ceases that result when working with fabric during a bag's construction.
The wax gives the bag a weathered look and helps protect the fabric from the elements. There is also that little benefit of the slight scent of honey. :-)