Now that I have an actual assortment of whistles from Eb down to A, I was wondering if anyone is currently making carrying cases of any type these days. The only one I’ve ever heard of is Sassafras, but they seem to still be on hiatus…
Or has anyone easily made their own?
Have you checked to see if any are on ebay?
I’ve got one of these to hold my stone carving tools;
http://www.amazon.com/Arsenal-5782-Canvas-Wrench-Roll-Up/dp/B001G8XIG8/ref=pd_sim_hi_1
It may serve for whistles.
Yes (my designs made up by a friend!), and I keep meaning to do a blog piece with photos, ‘plans’ and rationale…
I’ve got one of these. Works well.
If you do a search through the old posts you will find a number of similar queries and some good suggestions on commercial sources.
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/multiple-low-whistle-bag/74808/1
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/a-whistle-bag-thread/76385/1
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/carry-case-for-whistle-collectors/74329/1
There are a couple eBay retailers that sell bags en mass these days.
My bags were made some years back by Kate Lozier of TuffBaggs. One holds my aluminum Burkes from high E down to low E.
Others hold the brass Burke whistles and low D/C whistles. Unfortunately, TuffBaggs do not seem to offer instrument bags on their website any longer. But that type of bag is fairly straightforward to cobble up. And my wife and I have made similar bags in the past using Supplex nylon for the exterior and Polar Fleece for the lining. But most any material can be used.
The simplest roll bags are a trifold design. They can be made from a towel - you choose the size depending on the whistles. One fold forms the outer bag or back. The second fold forms the inner bag or front. The third fold forms the flap which hold the whistles in the bag. The third flap does not have to be as large as the other two. Basically fold the first two fold over and sew along the outer edges to form a simple beg. Then sew pockets from the bottom edge up towards the opening of the bag. Spacing depends upon the diameter of your whistle bodies. Sew a diagonal if you want the heads to stay up near the top of the opening. Finally sew on ribbon or cord to tie around the whistle roll.
Feadoggie
Yep, mine were made from towelling after my partial mock-ups with safety pins and old towels (all I had to hand!) suggested that the material had some merits for the job, but edged across the pocket tops and round the outsides with acrylic tape. While we’d originally planned to sew the diagonals (or separate ‘ends’ like your bag shown above) to suit complete whistle ‘sets’, further testing led us to leave the larger bag at three discrete lengths (several pockets each at low D, low F and A length) and the smaller one (for smaller whistles) at a single length for increased versatility (the point being that you’re not ‘losing’ a slightly shorter whistle in a slightly overlength pocket, but can’t put a longer one in a shorter pocket!). And we’ve left off straps or ties for the time being, with separate (non-fixed) straps currently suiting me fine.
Will try to get some photos and measurements up soon.
I use Colin Goldie’s bag, which is very functional. Before that I used an old keffiyeh, rolled the instruments in it and stuffed it in my bag.
Sassafrass Grove whistle rolls are truly wonderful. One can hope that Sarah returns to the fray, soon.
Best.
Byll
Rolls? pah! 
(This only works if you have a small number of whistles…)
I’d enquired about the Goldie bags, but the flat-rate UK shipping cost (same price for one bag, two bags, a much more expensive whistle etc.) was pretty well prohibitive for what they were. So I told Brigitte I was getting my own made up and, friendly and interested as always, she was pleased about that!
Michael Burke’s pouches are of a very similar build and quality as the Goldie pouches (I have both). Short of a wooden box, both are as good as I’ve seen. He also sells 12 slot roll cases. I’ve never seen one, but I’d expect them to be of high quality as well. He sells the pouches for $5 and the roll cases for $40.
Rolls, no. Yours looks to be more in the Rolls-Royce category, DrPhill. Nice work there!
Yes! I do have a bunch of Burke pouches and a couple of the roll bags. They are indeed quite useful and protect the whistles nicely. One thing I would offer as a comment on them though is that the outer vinyl layer on the roll bag can crack overtime and with frequent use. But still a good option.
Feadoggie
Thanks for the info. I’m not a fan of ebay, but I’ll peruse the links and old threads. The Burke case looks promising.
Just in case of any misunderstanding, I meant the Goldie multi-whistle gig bag, not the pouches for individual whistles.
Thanks - close up it has defects, but it is functional, and very good protection. Alright for a first attempt.
Would a drumstick case work as a case for whistles? My newbie whistle collecton is starting to grow and I was thinking of just buying one of these drumstick cases, http://www.guitarcenter.com/Zildjian-Super-Drumstick-Bag-100470666-i1135986.gc . Any idea if these would work?
Ernest
Works for me. Just did some minor stitching to create separate pockets to keep the whistles from banging together. Won’t handle anything much lower than an A whistle however.
Best wishes.
Steve
If you followed the second link I gave in my first post in this thread you would have seen a couple drum stick bags full of whistles. And there is another one shown in this thread. Yes they work. I have several including one similar to that which you linked to (of course usually filed with drum sticks). What they do not do without modification is to protect individual whistles since there are no dedicated pockets for each whistle. But you can use a variety of methods to mitigate that issue if it matters to you. Check out the link above.
Drum stick bags come in a variety of shapes and sizes too. And there can be deals if you shop around so they are very cost effective (less than $10 if you luck out). EBay is full of them. Just measure the inside length of the bag to determine the longest whistle a particular bag will hold. My favorite is a Ritter stick bag (follow my link) which will hold a huge amount of whistles including fully assembled low F’s. Larger whistles have to be broken down, no prob. It is very well padded and cost less than $20US.
Flute case covers can work too and are available at similar prices to a stick bag. I prefer the stick bag.
Feadoggie
I can vouch for both the Burke roll and Goldie whistle bag. The Goldie bag will handle full sized low C whistles while the Burke will handle up to an alto\low G in one piece. The Burke roll has 12 slots but will hold depending on body width, up to 25 or so whistles.
I though I’d try one of the Heritage bags sold on eBay but think I’ll wait to see if I can do better. If I don’t find something better soon, I’ll get another from Burke or Goldie.
I’ve reached out to Kate Lozier of Tuffbags based on Feadoggies excellent roll bag in the picture above. I have a bag she made for me several years ago that holds four whistles up to Alto A with no trouble and it is excellent. Kate said she remembered Feadoggie’s bag style and would consider making them again but she’s not making anything new until late April. I am going to ask her how many advance orders it would take to insure that. Maybe we could do a group buy. I’d take two or three myself.
Good topic. Looking forward to more ideas.
ecohawk