Building a Backpack - Part One

So one of the things I have been contemplating, since getting off the AT, is building gear. In consolidating my belongings I figured I should have a designated bag for project and art supplies. Though the original thought was to create lightweight backpacking style packs, this bag would make for good practice.

I have done quite a few sewing projects before, but this would be the most adventurous. I also believe this pack to be a test platform I can iterate on over time.

The material would come from an over sized pair of khakis left over from my ska days, and an extra large navy work shirt I bought for my juggalo costume one Halloween. It was a bit of a guess if it'd be enough material, but I would size the pack appropriate to what I had.

The pants are what I can only describe as duck pants. They have leather accents on the pocket openings. Every seem was cut using a razor and the bits were laid out to see what I had. The large swaths of textile that is the legs would be the body of the bag. I figured the waist line would make one good shoulder strap and I could piece together a second. From the legs I had extra here that would make both straps. The back pockets would be flat on the outside of the pack. The front pockets get reversed and used as side pockets facing forward. This is a tribute to the water bottle side pouches found on many backpacking packs.

Back pockets

Front pockets

Al the bits and pieces after tear down.