Awesome Messenger/Laptop Bag

This is an incredible durable, attractive, and easy to make bag for your laptop, groceries, and various other articles. It costs anywhere from 15-35 dollars, depending on your morals and ingenuity.

Step 1 Here's a PDF

I think that this is the easiest way to do this project.

http://donovanr.googlepages.com/bagitup.pdf

plus you could print it out, or at least avoid being on the internet the whole time you sew.

Comments

[BobMarleyFan]

if you dont want to use waxed dental floss, you could use waxed nylon leather thread. It's probably just as strong as floss

[Darkdreamer713]

This is great! I'm working on mine right now. My only question is why waxed dental floss? Is it stronger than regular thread? I have a sewing machine so I was thinking of using regular thread, but if Dental Floss is stronger, I'll use that (whether I can thread it into my machine or just do it by hand). I have a 17" laptop, so I revised the measurements and am making my bag a bit bigger. Therefore, it will need to hold a lot of weight. Also, instead of one strap across, I'm going to put 2 on the back, to convert it to a backpack/messenger type thing. Please answer me ASAP about the dental floss b/c I'm waiting to finish the bag. Thanks a bunch! :o)

[celticchrys]

Dental floss is stronger, but you're machine sewing, try using button thread of heavy duty thread instead. Button thread is very strong stuff.

[HAL 9000]

What a bag!! now that i've finished making it i can say that this odes just about anything i need it to. i daily pack i full of all of my textbooks, not a light load by any means, and then some. I'll add more pockets on the sides later, but for now this is great. All my friends want me to make them some.

[HAL 9000]

when i made mine i used some plastic as a waterproof membrane inside it. a friend of mine made his without the plastic and it was much quieter and i think it looked nicer. my suggestion? use Tyvek house wrap for your waterproof layer, as over time it will soften and basically be like another (very thin) layer of fabric.

[KevinM]

I've been looking for a messenger bag for a little while now, but I can't find any made in the USA that are in my price range. (cheap) I think the Waxed dental floss is to help seal out water. I've heard that floss can be strong, but I'd like to test it against carpet thread or something. Waxed carpet/button thread would be ideal, I think, something that can make the bag waterproof around the stitching.

[Darkdreamer713]

This is great! I'm working on mine right now. My only question is why waxed dental floss? Is it stronger than regular thread? I have a sewing machine so I was thinking of using regular thread, but if Dental Floss is stronger, I'll use that (whether I can thread it into my machine or just do it by hand). I have a 17" laptop, so I revised the measurements and am making my bag a bit bigger. Therefore, it will need to hold a lot of weight. Also, instead of one strap across, I'm going to put 2 on the back, to convert it to a backpack/messenger type thing. Please answer me ASAP about the dental floss b/c I'm waiting to finish the bag. Thanks a bunch! :o)

[DELETED_jorgegunn]

This was a great tutorial i printed out the instructions and it only took like 20 minutes to finish. I made mine a little different though and it turned out completely awesome. I took some vinyl signs i dumpstered ( you know those big signs that you see saying buy our stuff so you can feel like your worth something) and i used my sewing machine because that stuff is crazy thick. I just sewed under the edges of the front panel leaving it to where it would make a great front pouch and stuck some Velcro on the front to keep the panel down. I didn't have any cool strapping so I just cut of the seams finishes from the sign and sewed them on as straps. It works great and holds all of my crap. I had a smaller sign and adjusted the dimensions to make a great little purse and I had enough left over from the bigger signs to make heavy duty grocery bags. Thanks so much for this. Hey On Earth day I'm going to have a recycle crafts booth at our school celebration do you mind if i hand out your pamphlet so other peoples can create this cool bag. I could probably make a pattern and hand that out but your instructions are so well drawn and put together. Thanks--jorge

[johndoe5595]

I'll buy one from you for 15 dollars. it looks really cool but I could never make it, I'm not good at making things like that. It's really cool though.

[Mamedarling]

Hot dang! This is fantastic. Love your drawings.

[Thickprettykitty]

Super awesome tut dude. Really great pictures.

[Popcornfilms]

hey if you want to email me the PDF ill host it on my sight, unlimited bandwidth. the google pages one is already out :( [e-mail]

[black_solstice]

I just downloaded the images hosted by Pumpkin Pie. Hope I can try this out myself soon! :)

[HAL 9000]

Wow, nice instructable/link. its printing out now, ive been looking at the Timbuk2 bags (ad at the bottom of this page, i think) but cant bring myself to shelling out $170 for a bag... especially being a mostly unemployed college student. looking forward to a fun project, thanks!

[bre]

I re-uploaded this pdf here. - LinkLink

[Pumpkin Pie]

Okay, I finally got a working copy of the PDF and uploaded it:

http://www.eggdisk.com/files/171191_ofg3x/bagitup.pdf

Download it, print it, save it, spread it like a plague so it's not an endangered species any longer! It's an awesome publication and it's a huge blessing that it's been given free to the world. Thank you author, whoever you are.

[Pumpkin Pie]

And if you feel like it, I converted the pdf to images that could be put on here to make web reading easier.

http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/pumpkinson/Bag/

[this is good!]

just wondering if you could upload the link again - as it doesnt work anymore. btw - the bag looks awsome cheers

[FrenchBelly29]

you should make these and sell them to us lazy people who are to lazy to make them but want them

[jquinby]

A most excellent instructable. I took the design in your PDF and adapted it for making a sleeve-type laptop bag.

Pictures here:
http://flickr.com/photos/69047046@N00/sets/72157594324358042

blog posting here:
http://meautemminui.wordpress.com/2006/10/11/laptop-bag-complete/

Again, many thanks!

[edfehrman]

I downloaded the file but Adobe says "the file is damaged and cannot be repaired"... Can the PDF be reuploaded?? Thanks! Eric

[Pathologic]

This bag looks like a really fun, interesting thing to do. I downloaded this before, but the file kind of disappeared on my computer. Now, the link doesn't seem to work. I'd be grateful if you could upload it to rapidshare.de or something, or fix the link for good.

[spinach_dip]

you're right, the file downloads ok, but won't open :(

[jpbanks]

I downloaded the file and it did not work. Could you check the link again, please?

[b8d8x9d]

Hey, the link is fixed. Hope it works well. I think that google has unlimited bandwidth. enjoy and share!

[teiam]

this is really awesome! i found this on some zine site.. well worth the buck fifty or whatever, but that its on instructables makes it truly "really awesome." thx4memories

[aquanut2]

Cool looking bag. If anyone has the pdf can they upload it to a site like rapidshare.de and post the link here? Thanks.

[modio]

Is there another site where I can find this tutorial? The .pdf link isn't working for me either.

[middleclasstool]

Yes, pdf link no worky. I'm eager to see this!

[arwen]

your drawing is beautiful...i'm glad you were too tired to do a regular instructable! but, when i clicked on the link for the PDF, the link was bad....

[pitter]

I love this, all of the drawings and hand-lettering. it reminds me of the howto books I used as a child. in fact it is almost exactly like the woodstock craftsman books. Fantastic job. I can't wait to try it out.

[b8d8x9d]

yeah the weatherproofing is in between the canvas. but, remember to use duck cloth. it seems stiff at first but softens up really nicely, like Carhart jeans. Send me a picture of your bag when you make it! (and sorry that this doesn't follow the usual instructions for this site...i spent too much time drawing it for a printable version and now i'm tired!)

[sambot]

This is awesome! I will be making this during the weekend!!!

[cokebottle tuque]

so the weather proofing is sandwiched between the canvas?