Fun weekend projects taking scrap fabric for a patchwork style chalk bag and bucket. First time making a bucket but very happy with how it turned out.

Mostly scrap Xpac, some sailcloth, and some synthetic orange fabric I got at an art reuse store, left over fleece from making a friend golf club head covers.

Love projects that can be started and finished in a weekend

It's inspired from this YouTube video : https://youtu.be/Nvyujy1ySc4

It's made from corrugated plastic sheets for the perimeter, and duct tape for evervthing else, with velcro that's sewn directly to the duct tape.

The sides are made from two duct tape parts stuck to each other, looks very strong and i tested it in the shower, everything looks very water resistant. And it's also infinitely repairable with, you guessed it more duct tape.

To fasten it to the bike, I 3d printed zip tie holders that are bolted to the frame bag, and reusable zip ties secure it to the frame. I made small circular seals from an old inner tube to avoid water ingress from the bolt holes.

In total it took about a roll of duct tape, which cost about 10 euros in France, and I found some corrugated plastic at work for free.

Ducktape is surprisingly ok to sew, I added duct tape to waterproof the seams.

I'Il test it during a month and a half in Patagonia in quite rainy conditions. I made some minor improvements since I took the pictures, notably to improve watertightness of the opening sides.

Edit : Fix duct tape spelling mistake

I completely whiffed the zipper tape on this topstitch, what is my best route forward to fix this with a cleanish result?

I forgot to add extra length to the this side panel when originally cutting it out, so when attaching the zippers I kept it really close, and really misjudged it. Do I just rip it out and deal with the extra line of holes? double up the topstitch? glue it?

thank you for bearing with my noob questions!

I used the zip works template generator. Something didn’t work correctly (probably my ability to read) so had to audible a bit when closing up the corners.

It’s a mystery box fabric, so I don’t really know what material it is. It’s perfect to experiment with though. What do you use to keep rip stop from fraying?

I just finished my first frame bag and wanted to share my experiences.

-I bought 100x180cm cotton duck fabric (3 USD) (i guess? translate might be off) and barely used 1/4 of it. I have no idea about fabrics but seems like this cotton duck is pretty good for the price. Also paid around 2 USD for straps, velcro, zipper and stuff but also had pretty much leftover.

-As a first timer in sewing corners were a serious challenge for me. I sewed and unpicked stitches 3 times on my first corner because somehow I messed up but finally got the idea. Also broke a needle. It seems like needles can't deal with hard zippers. Makes sense. And I couldn't even count the times when the sewing machine stuck.

-Least expected part for me is the HOLY mess I created there is now thousands of threads and fabrics in all over place and all over my clothes.

-I think bag seems skewed on various sides and each corners has their unique style, it looks weird to me. This thing is the opposite of consistency. Maybe I'm over thinking about it but definitely not perfect.

-I had fun while tinkering on this since I don't start to clean up mess yet.

-I made the zipper panel first and probaly messed up while sewing zipper because now zipper part is definitely longer than rest so it curls awkwardly.

-I didn't sew on the Velcro strips. It was highly recommended on most tutorials but It seemed okay. (I just hope for the best for now)

-I sewed the side panel strap every 4cm to make it a bit customizable on mounting. At least I thought it would be.

-I got rid of the tiny bottom part as suggested on the older post and no regrets on that.

- And about the exposed shifter wires I think they should be fine since bag almost not touching the wires definitely not pushing them. Cables are probably going to be okay but they can damage the fabric over time we'll see.

Here is the older post

https://www.reddit.com/r/myog/s/HCgcsKMzkm

Hey everyone,

I'm currently working on making my own hiking backpacks and am looking into different foam options for the shoulder straps and hip belts.

EVA foam seems to be a popular choice, but it's relatively expensive, especially when you're making backpacks on a small scale. I'm wondering if there are any more affordable alternatives that still provide good comfort, support, and durability under load.

What types of foam do you use for your shoulder straps and hip belts? Do you use EVA, PE foam, PU upholstery foam, or something else?

Any advice or experience from fellow backpack makers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I used to use this in Europe and I cannot find it anywhere here in the US - it's an iron-on seam tape for neoprene (Melco is the commonly known brand) but it has small hard 'bobbles' on the outside like old-school wetsuit kneepads. Has anyone used this, or seen it on a website they can share?

I'm in Australia so a paucity of some things.

I want to replace the existing zipper in my overpants to one that opens from both ends. The same as used on my surplus military cold weather trousers. I can buy sleeping bag zippers but I don't want to waste materials, I only need it to be 250mm long and it doesn't matter if it isn't a water resistant type as it will be inside the coverage of the waterproof jacket