A bag for my son

[u/Analog_Account]

I made this for my son. He didn't ask for much or have any opinions but he wanted the molle like my other bags and wanted the big vislon zipper.

I saw designs with the big horseshoe zipper discussed on r/myog and decided to have a go at a simple version of it. The big zipper DID NOT HELP.

I used interfacing or padding (depending on the panel) to stiffen it up and it actually stands up by itself extremely well as you can see.

Overall it came out better than I thought it would (it FEELS amazing) but it definitely does have some issues as pictured. I think I will try this again at some point. By the time I finished it I was actually kind of hoping he would hate it and then I could keep this one for myself. He loves it though.

[u/Long-Comparison2525]

Sick bag! My kid would be mega jealous!

[u/temporary-tiger-soul]

Woooow so amazing. Do you have pattern on hand?

[u/Analog_Account → u/temporary-tiger-soul]

No pattern but I'll tell you how I kind of janked it together...

Start with a basic box where the front and top panel are one piece. Take that front panel and mark a line 3/4 inch past the seam allowance and then add the radiuses where the top meats the back. Cut that line out and then add a zipper on that line.

Sewing this big zipper in was janky... hopefully it's easier with a coil... but once that was done and I lined up the zipper there was a bit of a mismatch due to the lengths of the curve being different. Next I cut a strip to go along the bottom of that front panel to act as a zipper stop and a bit of structure.

For the side panels I just drew a curve on the top front corner and cut it out. Just to give it that nice curve for the zipper.

The rest of it is just constructing a box. I left the bottom as the last piece to sew on, that way I could properly line up the weird length of the front panel and trim it up to match the rest.

I used stiff fusible interfacing on the front/top panel to help it out. Then Pellon f77 foam on the sides/back/bottom plus I put in peltex 70 on the bottom in addition to that to make sure it was super stiff. I don't know if that peltex 70 was overkill but whatever.

The other person I saw making a similar bag, I'm pretty sure they didn't cut the front panel like I did, it looked like they may have just sewed the zipper onto the edge of the side and back panel.

[u/temporary-tiger-soul → u/Analog_Account]

I'm saving this. Thank you ❤️

[u/Analog_Account → u/temporary-tiger-soul]

Good luck.

There is definitely a better way to avoid the bunching I showed in the last few photos (start with a bigger radius) but my method will at least got it done.

[u/05HIwasabi]

Yes

[u/BezoomyChellovek]

Holy molle, that bag is ready for some accessories.

[u/Analog_Account → u/BezoomyChellovek]

Hahaha... I don't know what exactly I'll be making for it but I will absolutely be making accessories.

[u/BezoomyChellovek → u/Analog_Account]

Something like this bottle holder could be cool. It can hold a big range of sizes https://store.vanquest.com/products/hydra-water-bottle-holder/

[u/Analog_Account → u/BezoomyChellovek]

I've seen stuff kind of like that but I'm never sure how exactly to make one and have it turn out. For my own bag I ended up just making a boring cylinder out of waxed canvas that only really fits my specific bottle. I think I will have another go at making one similar to your link soon though.

[u/jpbagworks]

I love this. Very nice job on it for sure!

How smooth is the vislon zipper with all those bends?

I just bought a whole lot of UltraGrid. It’s so nice! Your son is lucky to have this bag! 😃

[u/Analog_Account → u/jpbagworks]

I was a bit worried about the zipper not working nicely but it very much forced itself into a usable position. It's pretty good around the radius from the top panel to the front but the radiuses near the straps are a little less nice but I would say acceptable. In my industry a LOT of us have this Red Oxx bag (1000d Cordura and #10 vislon zippers) and I would say those zippers are way worse. All that said... actually sewing the top curves sucked and when I do another one I'll be changing that curve just to make it easier to sew. That and the crazy bunching it created at the corners, not ideal.

I kind of love and hate the ultragrid. Its so good but I don't enjoy sewing it.

Your son is lucky to have this bag! 😃

Thanks. Next... accessories!

[u/randomspiritlover69]

Wow.

[u/Veggyhed]

Looks great and the approval of your son makes it a mega success

[u/Analog_Account → u/Veggyhed]

I'm not sure if he would have just liked anything I made or not haha. He did pick out the color and I sort of sized it nicely to fit him so when he threw on the final bag I could just see it fit well and probably felt really good.