How to Make a Rune Bag

With this post, I begin a new series of posts which will be dedicated to runes. I will talk about the runes themselves in later posts, but I believe it is necessary to at least say what they even are in this first post.

Runes are a writing system which were also used for divination. As a writing system, they were actually used in all the Germanic lands of Western Europe. The word "rune" would, in translation, mean mystery or secret and its roots come from the Germanic word raunen (to cut, to shape, to carve; runes were first carved into wood or stone). 

They are usually kept in a bag to keep their energy in, but it can also be used when divining (more on that later). This bag is usually made of some sort of velvety material and is most often black. It can actually be made out of any nice opaque dark-colored material although you can see rune bags of various colors and designs nowadays. I noticed that knitted bags have become popular recently too, so if you know how to knit, why not? You are probably asking yourselves what it has to be opaque and black/dark? Both of these characteristics are related to small permeability of energy (just recall how little light black or opaque materials let through). Before runes are actually used, they are consecrated and cleansed and some decide to meditate on them or you could even say program them (as is done with crystals when meditating on its purpose over it). All of this enables the forming of energy around each individual rune which will, in a way, have its own personality. This energy can be lost if you keep your runes outside of a bag or it can even get "contaminated" by some other energy which doesn't necessarily have to be good. Surely, the more you meditate on your runes and the more you use them, the stronger their energy will get and the more precise your readings will be (although a big factor is definitely your own knowledge and capability of interpreting runes). Since this post isn't dedicated to this topic, I'd like to get back to the rune bag which will be important to you. I made two of them for my two sets of runes and I just wanted to share the process with you since I'm happy with the results.

But why even make a rune bag when you can order one from e-bay for a small amount of money? Remember that I'm constantly going on about how something will be stronger if you put more energy into it. You will definitely put more energy into making the rune bag yourself than you would by pressing two buttons and waiting for someone to deliver it to you. :)

Here is how my rune bags look. I know they're not glamorous, but you can decorate them any way you like. You can sow on a picture or sew in some text of a symbol (it is very common to sew in a protection symbol for additional "security measures"). :)

Now I think it's about time we got to the actual "how" part of this post. I will describe how I made my bags, but feel free to change anything you don't like.

You Will Need:

• velvet or any similar material (2 pieces, 15x30cm)
• something with which you will mark with (chalk or some white thread)
• scissors (sharp ones!)
• black thread (since by bag is black, but you can choose any color that suits your design)
• needles (2)
• about 40cm of cord (the color of your choosing)
• a ruler

It took me about an hour and fifteen minutes to make the larger bag of the two (dimensions stated above) and I really didn't spend much money (about 5-6 euros). You can find the materials you will need in any textile shop or office supplies shop.

The Procedure:

1.  Gather all the necessary material.

2.  Fold the material which you bought once (since you won't be able to buy such a small amount of the material in any shop so you'll have to cut it out on your own) and take your scissors, a ruler and something with which your can mark the material (make sure it's visible enough). I folded the material so that the velvety texture is both inside and outside the bag, but also because I wanted the bag to be thicker and firmer.

3.  Make the width 15cm. Make sure that you've got the right width by marking several points and joining them using your ruler and chalk so you get a straight line on which you will cut later. For the height, take 30cm. Again, mark this length on several parts and join them into a line. The two lines you have drawn will now make up a rectangle which you can now cut out. Since I didn't have any textile chalk, I used a needle and nice white thread which you can easily see on the black material.

4.  You will now have two rectangles each 15x30cm in size.

5.   Take your needle and thread and sew up the edges of the two rectangles together. Don't worry if it doesn't turn out perfect because these edges will be on the inside of the bag anyway. And don't forget to sew in one place several times when you get to the end of your thread because this secures the thread so it doesn't slip out. You will now have one rectangle.

6.  Fold this rectangle in half along its longer side. Sew one side together but only about half way up and leave your needle and thread in! Take your cord and put it along the upper side of the bag. Fold the edge over the cord towards the outside (don't forget that you're going to turn the bag inside out later on!). Take your other needle and thread and sew this folded edge over the cord taking care not to sew up the cord in the process (it's important to check every now and then if the cord can pass through the hole with ease). 

7.  Do the same on the other side.

8.  Return to the half-sewn-up side of the bag and finish sewing it up to the top (that is, until you reach the joint of the top folded edge). Do the same with the other half-sewn-up side. When you're done with this, your bag will bee fully sewn up.

9.  Turn it inside out. You can see what the stitch work looks like from the outside (once the bag is turn inside out).

10.  Tie the cord to close your bag up.

11.  Put it in a safe place and get ready to fill it up with your runes soon as well as consecrate it! :D

Note:

If you want your bag to be larger or smaller then simply adapt this to the instructions, but keep in mind that you're going to have to fold the material in order to sew up the sides and that you will need about 2cm more at the top of your bag since you need to fold this top part over the cord. 

I hope that you will enjoy making your rune bag and if something isn't clear don't hesitate to ask. 

The next post will be on making the runes themselves as well as their meanings so get ready! :D

Until next time. Yours,

Witch's Cat