Mom's Mini Bag...

Since I'd been home for a few weeks, I was ready to start making bags again.  

Mom wanted a small handlebar bag that would work on her light speedy road bike.  She only carries a handful of necessities with her, so I designed it to fit just those objects.

At 6 inches wide, 4 inches tall and 4 inches deep, it is a very tiny bag....

It could hold about 11/2 liters....the volume is 96 square inches.

It weighs 0.9lbs...400 grams.

I put pockets in this one...a little one in each side...

There are two inside flaps, closed with elastic, for keeping stray raindrops

Adjustments...

As a result of using my handlebar bag regularly the velcro loops on the bottom began to wear out...already!

They would no longer reliably stay 'velcroed'.  Once, when the bag was heavily loaded, it started to slip down the supports and towards the end of the rack!  It was time to figure out a more reliable securement.  Dad had wanted leather loops on the bottom of his so he could use a toe strap to tighten his bag to the rack.  I decided that was the way to go!

The velcro was still attached as I sewed the leather patch onto the bottom.

Then I cut the velcro off...

and tried it out on the bike...

It worked well, and I think this will solve any problems with the bag sliding towards the front.

The toe strap is a little long...and it will get cut...

Still healing and preparing...

I've just about finished Tuck's handlebar bag.  All I need to do is attach the toggles...when they are made.  Last night he tooled a few of the leather pieces I was preparing to attach to the bag.  

Here are some pictures of the (nearly) finished bag...you can see how different it is from mine.

Some close-ups of the detail...

Over the past few days I've been taking short trips on the bike to try to loosen up my knee a little.  It may be working...there is almost no pain or tightness!  I still occasionally ice it; specifically after a ride.  Thankfully, it does seem to be healing quickly, so I think we can leave soon.  I will definitely take it easy and be sure to do as much spinning in low gears as I can. 

 I'm actually glad we weren't able to leave at the beginning of the month...riding and camping in constant cold rain would have been quite miserable!  

Hang it all!

Since I will need to use the panniers soon, I must finish making them.

All that is left to do is make and attach the hanging apparatus.  

My brother bent flat steel into 8 hooks for me and drilled the screw holes...I painted them glossy black.

My dad cut flat aluminum for anchoring the hooks...

The aluminum gets sandwiched between the leather and the canvas.

I poked and punched holes in the leather for the screws to go through, carved channels for the stitching, poked all the thread holes, and wore out my fingers stitching the leather to the canvas.

Since the paint on the hooks needs to dry fully, I attached these two for demonstration's sake alone...

I am very pleased with how it looks!

Oh, I  do need to waterproof the leather before the hooks are permanently secured...

Finishing the Handlebar Bag...

Earlier this week I made two loops for the front toggles and covered their unsightly parts with small rectangles of leather.  Yesterday I drilled holes in and put finish on the toggles.  Finally, this morning I attached them with some leather cording knotted at each end.  

 The toggles on the sides of the flap will only be closed if it is stormy.  They just hold the edges down to keep rain from blowing in.

Straps and Buckles...

Today I installed the straps and buckles on one front pannier.
Before sewing them on, I prepared all four sets by gouging out the grooves for the thread and punching the holes...

 The sewing itself went pretty fast...

 Not perfectly straight...but that is ok....it will work just fine!

Getting a handle on things...

Today I made it to M. Steffan's Sons, Inc again and acquired supplies to finish the panniers. 

One item I bought was a 40" strap of sturdy 1" leather...and 

immediately made it into a handle for the handlebar bag. 

  

 The two scissor snaps easily attach to the braided loops on either side of the bag.

It is so convenient to carry it over the shoulder when not on the bike...

Trim-work finished!

My fingers are sore, but I'm nearing the end...

I just finished sewing the leather trim onto the handlebar bag.

I am very pleased with how it looks!

The volume is 9.5L or 585 cubic inches.

Front, with flap closed...

Trim on the Handlebar Bag

Slowly, since sewing leather is a long process, the handlebar bag is nearing completion.
I'm trimming all the raw edges with the same leather I used on the panniers.  I'm also trimming all the seams.  I'm sewing the seam trim with the saddle stitch....it sure is time consuming!

It doesn't take long to sew...

This morning I cut out the canvas for the handlebar bag.

Since there are only two relatively short seams to sew,  it doesn't take long to put the sides on...

One more small step finished....

Just part of the process...

Yesterday I began designing the handlebar bag, and today I continued the process...

First I took the cardboard measurements and put them on pattern paper, adding 1cm of seam allowance to each side.





Next I used free fabric to make the first bag.  That way I can work out some of the kinks without ruining my good canvas...

I curved the lower corners because I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to make square corners lie properly!  I think it looks nice with curved corners...

It was easy to sew up quickly on the machine...

And the final product looks ridiculous, but next time I'll remember to start sewing the sides on where I want them to start, just beneath the top flap...

Now I will mull everything over in my head for a while, and hopefully figure out the top flap, attachment system, and other small details....

Designing the Handlebar Bag...

It has been a long time since I last made an update....but that is just because nothing has been happening other than more sewing of the same panniers...

Today I finally designed the bag that will hang off my handlebars.
I admire the bags made by Gilles Berthoud so I used one as my model...

I made the rough shape of the bag out of cardboard.
That way I was able to figure out dimensions and see how it would look in position.  Since I was modeling mine after an existing bag, I took the dimensions of that bag and altered them to my liking.  Since the dimensions of the model were in metric, my measurements are also in millimeters...

It is a very rough diagram, but the first step is finished!

The beginning of the end

Saturday I cut out the pieces of canvas for the last pannier.  It is the second front one.  I started sewing it Sunday afternoon.  

It is kind of a weird feeling to be working on the last pannier!  But it is a good weird feeling...

I still have to finish the other front pannier, but that just involves straps and waterproofing.  

I am also waiting for a final design and materials for the two rear pannier attachment systems....

Sarong = towel?

A sarong is a very lightweight rectangular piece of fabric used for clothing or a beach cover-up.  Somewhere I read of a bicycle tourist using one for a light multi-use towel.  We had some very thin cotton sitting around, so I turned some of it into a sarong. I will take this instead of a bulky towel.  I could also use it as clothing...

I'm  very pleased with how it looks as a skirt...   

It folds up quite small, too.