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My new Eggsy backpack... |
This talented Indonesian bag maker freely offers up quality patterns for our
consumption, and it's all done to a level that equals or surpasses many "paid"
designers. If you're looking to make a bag and you learn best by video, I
highly recommend you check him out.
The project that I'm about to show you was mentioned in that previous post:
the
Eggsy Backpack. (I'm making the rare move of actually providing a link here.) Under the
details section of the video, you can access a PDF containing all required
templates.
I chose this design out of his vast catalog of backpack patterns for its
sleek, oval, curvy shape. Also, the way it's constructed immediately gave me
ideas for how I could allocate my intended fabric selections (which included
my own
Canadiana Tiled & Mirrored and the Emma & Mila (Field Carbon) that I first used for my
eReader case).
Black, white and red would rule the day for this project!
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| It's a good size... |
For the lining, it's a blast from the past: a 2002 release called
Black and White and Read Allover by
Cindy Taylor Oates. It came from
Jake's care package
that I received ten years ago. I've said this before, but it's literally the
gift that keeps on giving!
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| Whimsical eye chart fabric (front lining)... |
I believe this is only the second time I've used this fabric for a bag;
the first was one of my
bodaciously basic bucket bag
testers. As so many others often do with certain fabrics in their stash, I
guess I've always been saving it for something perfect. This is a perfect
colour match for my black, white and red Eggsy. (And I still had/have a
lot left!)
Further about the fabric, my Canadiana pieces are a lightweight
cotton twill, while the Emma & Mila is a high quality (read
"higher thread count") quilting cotton. I left the twill as is, but
interfaced the quilting cotton with SF101. I contemplated adding some
fusible fleece to some of the pieces but ultimately decided against it.
None of the lining was interfaced.
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| This was a lightly interfaced bag... |
The end result is a soft finish that holds its shape, but is definitely
squishable for packing or squeezing into small spaces. (I mean, don't you
just hate it when someone's backpack is sticking in your face while on a
bus or in a lineup?) In these photos where you see the bag standing up by
itself, it's doing so without any "stuffing" or extra help.
By the way, as I was looking at the photos of the finished project, it
also occurred to me that in the absence of the Emma & Mila fabric, I could have used my own Healthy, Hopeful, Happy design to produce a similar item.
Miko's tutorial revealed a new (to me) technique for making a zippered pocket with a "clean" interior, i.e., no exposed zipper tape under the opening. The existence of this method is not unknown to me; I've just never cared enough to learn how to do it. I guess what I'm reiterating is that he doesn't cut corners in how his projects are designed.
That said, the process for making this pocket is covered – generically –
in a different video, so you'll have refer to a second tutorial when you
get to this step. I chose to add a second zippered pocket to the back
side of the bag, so that's where I used this more professional method.
For the interior lining pocket, I actually did two things differently. I
used the basic method (with exposed zipper tape), but I also left the
bottom of the lining open – actually cut it open since it began
as a single piece – and turned (this half of) the bag right side out
through that opening.
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| Using the bottom of a pocket to turn right side out... |
This modification let me skip having to hand sew along the gusset to
close up an alternate opening for turning (as indicated at 24:17 of the
video). Less hand sewing is always a win in my book!
While we're on the subject of pockets, let me describe the other two
that I added. One is right along the gusset and the other is attached to
one of the side panels of the rounded front part. The latter was a last
minute addition, decided on when I saw how wide that area actually was.
It will certainly carry sunglasses and will even fit my cellphone in a
pinch.
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| Simple slip pocket added to gusset... |
The gusset pocket is similar to the one I added to my
Seth bag. It's even more simple here as it's just one long single piece
of fabric, seamed to create a tube (to make the pocket self-lined). It's
then sewn to the bottom and basted along the sides of the gusset. I
created the illusion of a flap by folding the top part of the fabric
over and adding a rivet.
Size-wise, you might think it's hardly big enough to be useful, but not
only can cards fit in it (it's deep enough that they won't fall out),
it'll also accommodate reading glasses – even sunglasses if they're not
the big chunky kind – or a tube of insect repellent, lotion, sunscreen,
or hand sanitizer.
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| Water bottle harness attached to gusset piece... |
Staying with the gusset for a moment, one of the things I wanted to
add – since the bag didn't have an exterior pocket designed for it –
was a water bottle harness.
I used a piece of heavy duty wide elastic for this purpose. (Same stuff
that I used for our shinto stool cushions, which are still functioning well, five and a half years later.) I
measured to make sure that it would have to stretch just a tiny bit to
hold a basic 500ml bottle. If it's not snug, it will just slide out.
I eventually attached my red and white
key card lanyard
to one of them.
By the way, I was quite happy to discover that even though a bottle of
water takes away from the amount of room (width-wise) inside the bag,
the area in front still offers up a lot of room for things like a
pouch or some other organizer. (You can't see it in this photo, but my
3 pocket red and white ribbon pouch
is inside.)
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| Two multi-purpose mini straps attached to opposite side of gusset... |
Okay, back to the subject of the other pocket. After completing the
front part of the bag (12:52 of the video), I noticed that the sides
were actually pretty substantial. Substantial enough to add a slip
pocket if I could somehow manage to add it artfully.
Luckily, I had a big enough matching remnant to work with, one that
would allow for seams along three sides – the pocket is unlined – so
that it could be sewn on top of the existing panel.
Pressing is important, to ensure that the fussy cut stays true after
adding the seam allowances. (While Miko doesn't seem to press anything
during his construction process, it's always a good thing to press as
you go when you're making a bag like this.)
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| Adding another slip pocket... |
This last minute addition turned out reasonably well, all things
considered. One could try to add this pocket to the original panel D,
but having extra thickness in that zipper area might not turn out so
well.
Anyway, one of the commenters on the video apparently had the same
problem and when I read it, it occurred to me that I had done the exact
same thing!
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| Straps done my way... |
I pondered for a long time about how to make the straps, knowing that I
only had so much webbing (recycled from an old duffle bag) and also that
I didn't want to buy gold toned hardware to make them as designed. The
reality was that this is my bag. As long as I can use it
comfortably, having the straps be adjustable seemed unnecessary.
That's how I ended up with my fabric trimmed straps. Once I determined
that I had enough fabric to cover one side of the webbing, it was an
easy decision. And because I didn't have the perfect amount of webbing
(slightly short), I used some of the fabric to make anchors at both
ends. The raw ends of the straps were inserted into those anchors, which
were then secured by topstitching along both edges of the straps.
If you've been a regular reader for awhile, you may know that I love to make use of recycled bits and discount store purchases for my projects. This one was no different. (I already said that the webbing for the straps came from an old duffle.) The zipper pulls on the front pocket came from a pair of suede boots that I tossed a few years ago.
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| Never toss old zipper pulls... especially when they look like this! |
Other "danglers" that I added to the remaining three exterior zippers –
a red handbag and a lock and key – came from my old cell phone charm and
from a pair of shoes (that
you can see here).
The gold slider buckle that I threaded through one of the straps came
from the same $10 thrift store purse that gave up all of the golden
hardware for my
customized Goddess of the Sea bag. (If you're wondering what the buckle's for, it's a handy place to
hang a pair of sunglasses for quick access.) It's free to slide up and
down the strap to whatever location.
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| Can't have too many places from which to hang bling! |
The accent ribbon that's used to trim the ends of the main zipper came
from a Michael's discount bin (for a buck). The colour
match is spot on. The ribbon was sewn back to back to form the hanging
loop at the top of the backpack (instead of using more webbing).
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| A necessity for every bag I own! |
Because most of my hardware is silver toned, I had to pay a visit to
my local Dollarama to find a gold keychain. I needed a
split ring to thread through one of those ribbon zipper ends so I
could attach a
lip balm carrier. Usually made with non-fraying materials, I zigzagged stitched my
Canadiana fabric to resolve that issue.
I typically forget (and really don't much care) to add a designer tag to
my creations, but when the bag was finished, the front panel just seemed
to be lacking something. I decided to make a maple leaf patch and attach
it with double sided tape and rivets. Thankfully, the dual access front
pocket made that easy to accomplish, even after the fact. (Oh, and by
the way, the maple leaf on this patch came from a different version of
my Canadiana fabric; it's a fleece used for
these mittens.)
FINALLY – and I do mean finally – I wanted a way to turn this into more
of a sling bag. Unless I'm really seriously trekking, I'm probably going
to carry this bag on one shoulder with one strap. However, I don't like
an unused backpack strap hanging loose; it just makes it easier for
someone to come along and snatch it.
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| An example of a simple but extremely functional modification... |
With the help of hook and loop tape and some sturdy black elastic –
saved from one of my
$1 belts
– I sewed up the contraption shown here to help keep the two straps
together.
And yes, that was the final addition that I made to this Eggsy. (However, it's not the end of the saga — I'll be back with another of Miko's Eggsy projects before the end of summer.)
'Til next... 🇨🇦🍁
