O Sweet, Sweet Trapezoid

Digital Hegemony

19x12x6--7/07--Cordura & Top Gun poly

I'm really pleased with how this bag turned out. It still needs to be cleaned up a little bit, especially round the lip, but overall--yeah--nice bag. My roommate's gonna try an' destroy it for me...and if it holds up, I'll be making some more.

If you like this fabric, you can get it cheap at Rochford Supply.

3D pockets: tryin' something new. The way the expandable front is designed makes it impossible to put two flat pockets in the front, so I had to make some of these. I think I made 'em a little too big...but hopefully they won't get in the way.
3D pockets: aka beer pockets.

New Bag

17x12x6--7/07--Cordura & Top Gun

Now this is a hot bag. Fo' shore.

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. It's not as big as my other musette, though, which is kinda lame, but my next one will be expandable.

Check out those reinforced corners. Yeah.

Brown Bag It

15x12x5—7/07—Cordura & Top Gun poly

In honor of my love for lunches from home. Aw.

I'm done designing this bag. It's over. It can't get any better. And I'm tired of working on it...for now. Currently I'm designing a bag that has corners that are easier to sew. I should be done with it in a couple of days...we'll see.

Damn! look at that liner float. Ha ha... Check it: 3M Diamond Grade reflective bits on the buckles.And this is how it begins...

Bringing Back the Fanny Pack

9x5.5x3—7/07—Cordura & Top Gun poly

Of course, these days it's called a hip pouch. Ha.

Anyway, this is a pretty simple hip pouch, with tri-glide tabs so you can attach a shoulder strap and wear it as a purse. Neat, neat, neat.

I use a NY chain and a super-tiny U-lock, otherwise I would've built a U-lock holster into it...maybe some other time...

Messengerette

15x12x5—7/07—Cordura & Top Gun acrylic-coated polyester

So here's a more simple musette--no outside pockets. And I made the flap shorter so I could eliminate the seam on the bottom. Now the bag looks a lot cleaner. And there's still enough room on the flap for artwork. On my next bag I think I'm going to shorten the flap still—so you can pull the corners closed more. Like, tight.

I'd like to offer a bag without a shoulder pad, 'cause, you know, making shoulder pads takes me a while...but maybe I'm just really slow. So I'd like to have a more inexpensive bag available...but not if it's going to be uncomfortable—because luxury is what we're shootin for here at Leif Labs. No rashes, no boils, no poky things. Anyway...hopefully this'll meet my comfort criterion. Otherwise, every bag's gettin a pad.

Maximum Paddage

The strap on the musette below wasn't that comfortable so I made a little pad for it...and then I decided that it wasn't workin' so well so I just made a regular padded strap:

And I put the little pad on another bag:

And this is what the pads look like before I sew the webbing and buckles on 'em. They're made of 100wt fleece, nylon pack cloth, and 3/8" closed-cell foam. Hundred-weight fleece has wicking capabilities. I don't know if you can really tell or not, but I like to think that it makes a difference. Ha ha ha... Anyway, it doesn't bunch up like woven fabric, so it feels nice 'gainst yr body.

Is she turning blue?

Musette

15x12x5--7/07--1000d Cordura & Top Gun poly

I guess this is a deluxe musette with a simple strap. I've done this strap design before but with a side-release buckle, which are kinda pointy at the corners. This ladderloc isn't so pointy, but it's still not the most comfortable thing to have pressing up against your ribs. Yee. So it looks like I have to make a little pad for it. Hmm...

I moved some seams round so it looks sharper and is easier to sew. Though, putting the grosgrain on the lip at the end is still kind of a bitch. So it goes. Maybe I'll glue it first...

Woo!

Clutching her ferret, she said...

Orange

9.5x6--7/07--VCP & corduroy

Man, I hate sewing this vinyl-coated polyester. It sticks to my sewing machine table...so I can't sew straight lines. Grrr.

Brianne, now this looks like a vagina. Ha.

Monster Buckle

Yikes!
So I ordered a hundred of these without looking at a sample first (’cause ITW (aka Fastex aka Nexus) was out of ’em when I ordered my samples (they’ll give you free buckles—just ask)) and I must say, I was a little bit surprised at how big they are. They’re pretty intense…and a little bit ridiculous. But ridiculous is what we’re going for here at Leif Labs, so it works out. Ha.

Deluxe Musette

Panzer
15x12x5—7/07—Cordura & 18oz VCP (from Germany!)
Okay, so I’m revising my definition of "messenger bag." If you can’t carry at least two babies in your bag, it’s not a messenger bag. It’s something else. Like this. It’s a musette. A fancy musette. Ha.
Anyway, this is a custom-color bag for a friend of mine. Pretty nice, pretty nice.
Bag number one with a Leif Labs tag. Woop woop.

Stinky Fabric

Uhg, I'm never ordering treated Sunbrella fabric again. It off-gasses way too much for my liking--which is too bad, 'cause it comes in such lovely colors. But one of my life-goals is not to get cancer before 50, so it'll be living outside for a while.

If you want some of this nasty-ass fabric, the best place to get it (that I've found) is Perfect Fit-McDonald. They also have nice Cordura at a reasonable price.

I'm also never ordering vinyl-coated polyester ever again. That stuff stinks a lot, too. And isn't too great for you or the environment. But really, which synthetics are. The question is: which is going to do the least amount of harm. I'm sticking with an acrylic-coated poly for my weather-resistant liners..for now. But who knows what kind of foul things that contains.

Appropriately enough, some manufacturers are going PCV-free with their designs. And there are groups out there promoting eco-friendly technical fabrics. I just have to find their sites again. Ha.

Get the hell outta here!

Label This

Mandatory bag-maker photos: ah! my labels just arrived!
I ordered my labels from BCI, where it seems a lot of indie manufacturers (and Guess Jeans) get their labels. Or maybe BCI just has really good Google manipulation. I don’t know.
Anyway, they’re really nice damask woven labels. I thought that BCI automatically added a quarter-inch seem allowance to the top, as implied on their website, but apparently not. I wanted half-inch…but a quarter-inch is plenty wide. I’m just paranoid about things unraveling. Lesson learned: never assume anything when dealing with people who can’t spell “label” or “opaque.” Woops.
But I'm pleased with 'em. And check out BCI's website. They have a lot of hepful info on labels 'n' such (more than most), and they'll give you some free samples of labels they've made for other people.
There's another label maker out there who has a smaller minimum (250 as apposed to 1000), but I don't know what I did with the postie note that had their address on it. Hmm. It's on my desk somewhere...