It’s no surprise that I’m a bag lady. I have been wanting to make a bag for my camera but bought one instead. It’s a narrow design that I can slip into my purse or simply carry on its own.
When I went to NYC a few years ago, I bought a bucket-style backpack to wear in the city and put my camera on the bottom. I cut up my old camera bag and used that to cushion the camera. It worked well enough but after a while the narrow straps cut into my shoulders. I still have it and use it on occasion.
With an upcoming trip to Chicago planned, I decided I wanted to make the 3-in-1 convertible bag from “A Bag For All Reasons” by Lisa Lam. This is an excellent book if you like to make bags. I refer to it all the time for various techniques like making an adjustable strap or inserting a zipper. The prospect of being able to convert the bag to a cross-body appealed to me.
I had a lot of the materials on hand. There were a lot of steps and I managed to mess up a few of them. I eliminated the decorative rings. I had a home dec fabric that I had used to make some artist bags. I love the fabric. It’s quite bulky so I really didn’t need to use interfacing.
I probably shouldn’t have used the fabric for the straps as it got quite thick. There are times when I plow ahead even though I know I should make a change.
I had some black vinyl in my stash and decided to use that for the bottom. The thought of the bag sitting on bus and subway floors grossed me out a bit and I thought the vinyl could be wiped down at least.
I took an idea from my purchased backpack. Instead of making the bias tape drawstring so that it had to be tied, I created a little stopper. It has just enough tension to hold the drawstring and I can pull it tight or open quickly.
When I finished the bag, I went to insert the straps through the D-rings and realized my other hardware was too big to fit through the D-ring. I had to rip open the lining and remove the top straps. Ugh! But, this is why I am not a brain surgeon. I was able to rip it open and fix it.
For the trip to Chicago, this is what I took. From lower left: my knitting in a drawstring taffeta bag (me made), a cord carrier made out of Kraftex, my new camera bag, my Nook, the first book in The Little House series, an Anne Cate bag for a night on the town, a small typewriter zip bag made by Annie to hold cash and credit cards and to be zippered into the backpack pocket. an Anne Cate vegan leather mini bag to hold Purell, Kleenex and my Leatherman, and sunglasses! Phew, that’s a lot of bags in bags! I, of course, took many of those items out when cruising about town.
I’m very pleased with the look of the bag. I just returned from my trip and used it all weekend as my purse. There were times it got a little heavy. Like after the Literary Festival on Printer’s Row where I accumulated a few books. I did wear it cross body several times as well.
I received a compliment from a young man who was so excited that it was convertible. He loved that idea!
Overall, I’m very pleased with the quality of the bag and know that it will see a lot of use!
