Bag Materials
The following assumes your materials are 45" wide (per yard), and bag dimensions of 12" wide, 18" tall, and 6" deep. The snackbag's final dimensions are 12" wide, 6" deep, and 4" tall.
- 1.25 yards exterior fabric
- 1.25 yards Veltex lining (or fleece, microfiber, or other Velcro-receptive fabric)
- .5 yards PUL lining
- .5 yards insulated interfacing (snackbag)
- 1 yard interfacing (main bag)
Notions
- 1 yard 3/4" Velcro. If you use iron-on Velcro, you might want to sew it on as well for extra durability!
- 1" foam. I went with one package of Fairfield Project Foam, which should leave me plenty of extra for other projects!
- 1 foot 3/4" braided elastic
- 3 yards webbing or strapping for the backpack straps and carry handle (I chose 1.5" polyester webbing)
- 4 adjustable slide buckles, wide enough to accomodate your straps (1.5" in my case)
- 1 1/2" swivel clip
- Twill tape or ribbon for key lanyard, at least 8" long and 1/2" wide
- 1 10" zipper (for the front welt pocket)
- 2 36" double-ended zippers (I like YKK brass zips)
- Coordinating thread
- Denim sewing machine needles, size 100
One of the reasons I don't have a fully finished version of this bag (yet!) is because I had to source materials, which has proven to be interesting in these pestilent, supply-restricted times. But my final bag will be made of the following materials, and these are what I'd recommend for this pattern.
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Exterior Fabric
I've chosen waxed canvas for the exterior of the bag. It's a material I've worked with before, so I'm familiar with how to sew with it. The wax lends the fabric water-resistance, and it ages exceptionally well, taking on character and patina over time. It's also a heavier, stiffer fabric, which is important for a bag that needs some structure. Plus, it comes in a variety of colors!
Get it at Klum House
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Snackbag Interior
For the snackbag, I want the interior to be truly waterproof and easily wipeable. Polyurethane laminate (PUL) is a popular choice for waterproof sewing, and because one of its primary applications is reusable diapers, PUL comes in a ton of patterns and colors.
Get it on Etsy
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Snackbag Lining
The lining for the snackbag should offer some insulation -- ideally, I want to be able to stick an ice pack in there in the summer and expect it to remain reasonably cold! Insul-bright is an ideal choice, as it's made specifically to insulate against hot and cold. I need to experiment some here, but common wisdom indicates that using two layers of Insul-bright will provide the stiffness and structure I want for the base of the bag.
Get it at JoAnn Fabric
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Main Bag Interior
The choices for the interior of any main bag are pretty endless. Some standards among the bag-making community include natural duck canvas, cotton quilting fabric, upholstery-weight fabric, and vinyl. For my main bag, I want to be able to use hook-and-loop pads to create a headset compartment, so I need the fabric to be "sticky" to the hook side of the equation. I took to a camera bag for inspiration, and came away with Veltex Loop Fabric. It's a Velcro product that's often used on conference-booth backdrops, but it's soft enough to provide protection for my headset.
You'll also use this material to create the modular interior pads.
Get it at Industrial Webbing
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Main Bag Lining
The main bag, like the snackbag, needs some structure. It also needs a little bit of padding, both so that the bag is comfortable to wear, and also to protect your headset and other tech. There are a bunch of ways to achieve this; I'm choosing to use a stiff interfacing -- Pellon's Peltex stabilizer, ultra-firm.
Get it at JoAnn Fabric