I ought to be in bed now, and an hour ago I was pretty tired. Then I had the brilliant idea to eat some coffee ice cream. I didn't have much, but man, I feel a little jittery. It didn't even have sugar in it.
So I'm too wired up to sleep, but not focused enough to work on my new sewing project, so I'll talk about it instead. It's a bag for carrying my camera. I've been looking all over for a good camera bag, but the only bags I can find are horribly unstylish. I've been using a Cafe Press messenger bag with some foam inside, which isn't at all safe. The foam slides around in there and I'm always afraid my camera is going to get banged up. The Cafe Press bag is also lacking in the pocket department. There's only one huge front pocket where you have to keep everything, and my keys are always getting lost in the bottom.
I found a messenger bag pattern with lots of pockets that will work I think. Also found some cool upholstery fabric on sale. Because I can't do anything the easy way, I decided to add piping. That's what the light green fabric is for. Also got some heavy-duty interfacing to give the bag stability. (the pattern doesn't call for any interfacing at all! ugh, the bag would get all crumpled up!) I'm going to use fleece to pad it but I didn't need to buy the fleece. I have tons of it lying around. For the lining I'm using a raincoat fabric I bought on super-cheap sale last year. It's hideous but waterproof, which is a good thing for a camera bag. I think I'm going to use another layer of the main fabric to line all the visible parts, and keep the ugly raincoat fabric hidden in between layers.
I'm a little concerned about how many thick layers there will be in this thing. There's the 2 layers of main fabric, the waterproof lining, the fleece and the piping. (I trimmed the interfacing to just inside the seamline, so it won't add to the bulk that has to go through the machine. I guess I'll just baste it to one of the lining layers.) There's also the strap, which will be that nylon web stuff and will have to be sewn in. I've never worked with that before. The pattern called for a strap made of the same fabric as the rest of the bag. But I think the nylon web will be more comfortable, more durable and look better too. I better make sure I have upholstery thread, & I might have to get a sturdier needle too.
All I've done so far is cut all the fabric and interfacing. Since everything is lined I probably don't need to zigzag all the edges, but if the fabric frays a lot I probably will anyway. I'll post an update when I start sewing.
4 Comments
sweet fabric!!
it makes me wonder what you'll be wearing at your wedding. ;-)
Hey -- I've been (unsuccessfully) in search of a good camera bag too (though mine has a few extra bits it'll need, as it's not really a camera bag as much as a "carry-all-my-stuff-when-I'm-travelling-including-guidebook-and-walleet-and-water-bottle-but-mostly-the-big-heavy-camera."
Funny. I never get the "big camera for little girl" comment ;-)
The really funny thing is when I showed the new lens to a friend of mine, who had read about the "big camera for a little girl" comment here -- she said "wow, that *is* a ... large camera for a ... small .. person like you."
Hey:
All I was looking for was a free messenger bag pattern. the material shown looks...um...interesting. It's not what I'd choose, but then, you're not me. (Like Tahllulah Bankhead says, "It's not easy being me. Even I have trouble with it sometimes.")Well, Bonne Chance with the bag. Hope it works out.