The Casper bag has proven it’s worth so far. However it needed a proper weight and load test.

Experiment:
Test the load capabilities of Casper bag and impress girlfriend with a harvest of Trader Joe’s goods.

Results:

• Purchase goods and load bag.
• Bike to girlfriends domicile with loaded bag.
  
  
• Present loaded bag to girlfriend. Endure ridicule.
  
• Watch gleeful surprise of girlfriend as she discovers goods.
  
• Total goods count: 3 bags of rice cakes (plain), 1 package of Chicken & Cheese Tamales (2ct), 2 packages of Cheese Enchiladas (awesome), 1 loaf of whole wheat sourdough, 1 8×10 sketch book, 1 sharpie, 1 Foray gel pen, 1 box of Marlboros, 1 Marconi lighter, 1 crescent wrench mutli-tool, 1 bike tool, 1 roll of quarters, 1 Kryptonite U-lock
  
• Sexy Results!
  

Thanks to: Trader Joe’s & The Amazing Genevieve

Piece(s):

Notes:
This “Casper” bag is the product of some hard research and a bit of practicing making other bags. Although this bag is truly featureless (no pcokets or anything like that), it is a real sign of progress and hope for me.

“Casper” is a turning point in my bag design and production. Even if I did break my sewing machine finishing it. (Not to self: get machine fixed.)

Thing that make this bag special:

• Recycled Military Rubber-ish liner (with printed description of what it held previously)
• Metallic silver padded shoulder (material from an old food delivery bag)
• Main strap buckle (for quick release)
• Sternum strap (for stabilizing)
• Overstrap on should pad (for clipping phone, bottle, walkies, etc.)

Things to take into consideration for “Casper’s” soon-to-be born brother:

• Pocketing
• Strap attachment at begging of main stitching
• Velcro attachment before main stitching
• Trimming during main stitching
• Designed dimensions

Until then I am a super happy camper.

Piece(s):

Notes:
This bag is not yet completed. I didn’t have the correct web strapping handy, so it will have to wait until tomorrow. The features on this bag definatley surpass any of my previous creations. And although some of the bag I am not happy with, it is a step onto a whole new realm. More to come when I am completed with it.

Bag Beta….SUCCESS!
This bag was a huge step for me. But first, things first. Photo dump….then see detail below.

-bag itself-

-bag on hot model-

As I said, the production of this big was a big step for me. I did it in about the same time as the first bag, but with planning and being less rusty on my machine, I made a superior product.

As you can see I added the following features:
• Padded shoulder strap (words were a nice touch too)
• Shorter top-flap
• Inside pocket (has proved very useful)
• Sternum strap (for stabilizing when riding)
• Much taller

With all of these additions and a big growth in the pattern, I feel I am on the road to building the best bag. The bag rides pretty well, but the strap could use improvement in placement. As you will also notice, there were two beers missing from the six-pack in my demonstration, so I’m off to rest now and think more about the pattern.

Goals for the next bag version:
• Better top-flap
• More pockets and/or large pocket on outside, under top-flap
• Fabric trim to take off the sharp edges
• Better strap placement

That’s about all for now. Tune in later.

My messenger bag is about to give way finally. It’s been with me for a solid two years, and is long overdue for a replacement. Not to mention that this current bag has hardly enough room for a city rider like myself. My first intuition was to go out and buy a Chrome bag. However I quickly found that I didn’t like the way they wore, so I opted away from Chrome bags. Next, I heard about a great made-to-order messenger bag company called R.E.Load, and really liked the way their bags looked. I happen to see one of their “not-so-custom” version at the local bike shop and tried it on. It fit great and felt like a bag that would ride easy.

The problem I found, after contacting R.E.Load, was that I would have to wait 6-8 weeks to actually get my bag. Not sure of how much longer my decrepit current bag might last, I looked for a quicker solve. That’s when I found Federico’s messenger bag pattern and blog about the evolution of this pattern. I quickly started a new, customized version for myself, drawing the pattern in illustrator and noting all the measurements needed.

As you can see above, I have not yet taken into account the straps. But I think those can be done after the main body construction. I’ve also changed the dimensions of the original pattern somewhat to make a larger bag. Seeing as how I am probably 1.5x the size of Frederico, it seems appropriate.

Now to find a sign shop dumpster tomorrow and get this going of the sewing machine….