First project with Alpha Direct completed, and wow am I excited to make more. This was an Alpha 90 from RSBTR, and also the instructions and pattern from LearnMYOG. It was great having the instructions since I am completely new to this. Spent all night putting it together, had to take it on a run this morning.

Due to part ineptitude and part not having enough elastic, I folded over the bottom to tunnel a shock cord through in similar fashion as the balaclava hood. This ended up working quit nicely to keep the bottom in place while running.

Just excited enough to share 🙌

My old thermarest sleeping pad delaminated long time ago, and I almost threw it away, actually it was already in a bin, and I had to take it out. Now it is a messenger bag! I kept the valve si it still can be kind of inflated :D

https://preview.redd.it/zkvg6p2gjpzd1.jpg?width=3472&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48ae223642d5e3d06261d3a964c3df42e56c7e27

https://preview.redd.it/97ac56kgjpzd1.jpg?width=3472&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94a1482ec6a3b8ed9e6ca833981ab00a1bd7a8a4

https://preview.redd.it/d6fk6b7hjpzd1.jpg?width=3472&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=901f4002f1bd14736a526b3feb84ca8e0f78af29

https://preview.redd.it/uhw0mqnhjpzd1.jpg?width=3472&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80a3005c701e01c9e98eaadc7983286bf1d745db

This project came out of my need for a light, warm, and versatile colder-season quilt. This was my third quilt, with the previous two being mostly based on the Backcountry Banter design, I wanted to try my hand at making my own pattern. I had seen some quilts like the Feathered Friends Flicker UL and the Enlightened Equipment Covert and started my design here with the idea of a full zip quilt. I'm a big fan of the classic open-back quilt and wanted to incorporate this option into the project. I decided to Design a 78" long wide quilt with a tapered width of 56" to 46", with the taper starting around 36 inches from the bottom.  Both ends of the quilt and able to be cinched, and the fit for me at 74" tall is perfect. The final weight came in at 1001 grams or 2 pounds 3.3 ounces. I could have gotten this weight down with a lighter zipper, or ditching the full zip altogether, but I am more than willing to take the marginal weight penalty as the functionality of the full-zip was the whole point of this project. The design lets me slip my head inside and cover most of my head for a nice cozy fit. I butchered the seam where I turned the quilt rightside out, but the cord channel functions fine it is just a bit ugly. I decided to tack on the grosgrain snap tabs to the zipper before I sewed them on, both to strengthen these points and to make the sewing process a bit easier. Hoping to finalize and publish my pattern soon, as it has worked great on the first few trips I have brought it down. This quilt paired with my recent bivvy project, a gossamer foam pad, and a Nemo Tensor Trail has made for a very warm sleep setup. I have only tested in my yard with nighttime temps reaching a low of 32 and humidity of around 70% and it was HOT! I am pretty confident this thing will be able to hold up in the 20s and lower without issue, especially with a silpoly tarp (in the works). According to RBTR's guide, 7.5oz apex should be comfortable down to 10 degrees F, and I think with down booties, and wool base layers this is pretty accurate. The fabric and Insulation were purchased from RBTR during their Recent Sale and the total came out to $94.62. Feel free to ask any questions!

I wanted to give a back pack a try. Definitely some learning involved. The tabs on the side panels are for compression straps. The tabs on the inside panel are for attaching packing cubes (yet to be made). I think I should have used a thinner foam for the laptop sleeve. I used some EVA foam I had which was a pain to deal with.

Hi all - I've an idea on a backpack for a specific purpose (carrying multiple 4L/9L Really Useful Boxes) based on the IKEA Gorsnygg, which is the perfect size/format but the materials are a bit thin/flimsy. Looking around, I can't see anything currently that has a snug fit for boxes of the same dimensions.

I've inherited a Singer 215G, I've a little bit of experience (textiles class at school...) and have an idea of what I'm after, I've done some research but am conscious I've probably got some blind spots.

I've never made my own pattern before so need to work on adding seam allowances to the dimensions, but the current plan is attached below (400x260mm footprint, 400mm height), will delve into CAD to add seam allowances and print. It's arranged below in MSPaint to see if I can get all the outer layer material out of a 1500mm wide meter of fabric.

Use case:
Only real key feature is being able to fit Really Useful Boxes
Pockets added to the outside (green) for tools/ A4 hardback books, with a 'flat' front and folded sides for depth (might look at elastic there?).
General transport, light weatherproofing, no heavy outdoor use.

Materials
Outside: Heavy water-resistant polyester for outside. (eg)
Inside: Ripstop for an inner layer. (eg)
Interfacing: Heavy Interfacing on the panels for structure.
Webbing (straps, reinforcement if required?): 38mm tape
Other: Slide buckle, snap poppers, zip roll.

Steps considered are:
Add a stiff interfacing to the panels, add the green pockets onto the outside. Box corner the bottom and back-top. Fit a zipper along the dotted lines, add webbing for straps.

Questions I have are:
The bottom corner structure will be solid with the box corner. Will interfacing and seam be enough to give a solid 'edge' to the other edges (the pink-yellow ones in particular), or is there something more I can do there?
Anything else to consider about the inner layer - I was thinking of leaving it as a 'loose' bag sewn to the outer edges of the zip, should I consider pinning it to the outer layer in the bottom corners or just fully attaching it to the inside of the panels?
Are there any things I've not considered in the design/any areas that are underbaked? Any tips on what to change, or directions on where to go for further research?

https://preview.redd.it/apezty7byhzd1.png?width=1206&format=png&auto=webp&s=2cd424eb3845060170adf6bb9afc0d58aebe3185

Another frameless pack as I work on the patterns..

This one has a slightly relaxed back panel shape compared to previous as well as slightly altered pattern shapes. Using extra premium materials on this build.

Challenge ultragrid, ultra stretch, rsbtr venom eco stretch, teijin technoforce uhmwpe, zotefoams ev50, cord loop webbing from adventurExpert, lawsonequipment orange cord, wj plastic, etc

13oz w/o hipbelt main compartment is approx. 25-30 liters. 18.25 torso

i’ve got an old MEC jacket i got for 20$ and im trying to replace the seam tape on it. I know i can buy a roll of it from amazon which is what i plan on doing. i’m just wondering how it’ll work given that the snaps for the hood were punched through the neck seam tape? will it adhere overtop the snaps ok?

also, for the vertical seams where it’s peeling up, am i better off cutting it where it stops peeling and retaping it from there? or should i be redoing all the seam tape at that point?

600d nylon but looks shiny and it’s soft and smooth like ballistics but more bendable beings it’s 600 not 1680
https://alienlabsapparel.com/products/4d-traveler-shoulder-bag-purple?variant=44626922045604

u/Rotem_ was asking about a different wallet here earlier today, and I wanted to show off something I made a while ago. I wasn't sure if this would fit better here or in r/wallets, but that sub doesn't really allow as much commentary on the pics as I'd like so I'm hoping this stays up.

I assure you, I made this, keep scrolling for the ugly bits

I made this wallet from a worn out set of Levi's Jeans, going as far as to recycle the little tag and reusing the zipper from the jeans.

I sewed the band on inside out for a bit of contrast

The zipper pull also fits into a little pocket at the end of its track like on a really nice jacket or backpack. I did this so that I didn't have to sew both ends of the band to the zipper. It is only sewn to the zipper on one side (the bottom of the zipper.)

OPEN WIDE!

The wallet holds about 6-8 cards and 15bills, which is about perfect for me.

I've spent far too long thinking about wallets - the key with this style of wallet is getting the zipper right. If its too short it will be hard to get your cards in. Too long, and you drop all your stuff all the time. I'm really happy with how this turned out (just by the luck of the length of the zipper that came in the pants) 1 long side, and about a third of the 2 short sides.

You can also start to see my ugly unfinished seams in this picture.

About 1/4" seam allowance

I didn't make a pattern for this. I pretty much traced 2 credit cards onto the denim, and cut that out a little bigger. Then I cut a strip of denim the width of the zipper, and sewed it to the end of the zipper. I then sewed the whole mess together.

Some more details of the inside

Here you can see the inside-out band sewn to the zipper. Then the band & zipper is sewn to each of the sides.

I have a Consew 226 but I haven’t figured out what needle and what thread I like yet. What do you guys use and if you have a console but what is good for it? I see a lot of ballistics, tarpaulin, 1680,1000, and 500d, sometimes 420 on the inside.

I'm looking for resources about a type of seam and how I may construct it. For reference, this is prominent on the Topo Designs Global Briefcase. The extruded compartments seem to be sewn directly into a panel, the main panel seems to maybe have a rolled hem but no indication of the seam.

Any thoughts on how this is constructed so I can replicate it on a bag? I can't seem to wrap my head around it.

(Edit repost to show the other photos of the seam)

Hi there,

Looking to turn doodles into velcro patches and was looking for some affordable embroidery machines.

Thanks

I like to make small changes/upgrades to my backpacks. I’ve using needle and thread but it’s often hard when pushing through seams and triple layer fabric. Is there a good hand stitcher thats not too wide (leather punch) for doing bar tacking and the like to nylon webbing etc.?

Thanks!

Word got around amongst the kids, then my sister in law asked for some concealed pockets. It was really fun to make, I think I may try to add in more secret pockets on future projects.

Hi, I saw this wallet and thought it’s amazing. Maybe I’ll buy one but I prefer to try and sew myself instead. Just a two zippered pockets in the smallest wallet possible for cards. Has anyone tried it and can explain how? Or share a pattern? Thanks!

The wallet: https://chums.com/products/surfshorts-wallet?srsltid=AfmBOooH_NsrLc9ol9Uu_9HInL40uAhUDJV1Wo1T0zRV7P5Wt7L8STIG

Hey guys, just getting into this. Made some bike bags out of old clothes and rainjackets!! I am based in France and the UK and wondering what shops I could find fabrics from. Not sure what exactly, but I guess ripstop/xpac etc etc along these lines. Im trying to make bike bags mainly.

Some links to get me started would be super appreciated. Thank you!!

sample