Constructing a DIY Frame Bag

Like many before us, we began our first bicycle tour fully kitted with Ortlieb panniers. These are really durable and waterproof, but they have a few downsides. They don’t scale down well for day rides and they are clumsy for off-road riding, especially tight single track. They also necessitate expensive front and rear rack systems which often require mounting adaptors for disc brakes and forks lacking braze-ons.

For quite some time now, the bikepacking crowd have been using frame bags, handlebar bags and expandable saddle bags in favour of traditional panniers. There are now plenty of high quality, custom bikepacking bags on the market from brands like Revelate Designs and Porcelain Rocket. Nick at GypsyByTrade has kindly compiled a comprehensive list of all homegrown bike bag makers. The quality of these bags is certainly well above anything I could make myself. However, after a year of touring with no income, I need to pinch my pennies. So, I decided to try to make my own frame bag on Shlukee’s sewing machine.

I’d never used a sewing machine in my life, let alone learned how to wind a bobbin, thread the machine and use a zipper foot! Consequently, making this frame bag took longer than expected, but I learned a lot along the way. I am by no means an expert on these things, so please leave a comment if you have suggestions!

Specifying The Design

I started by checking out a few other DIY frame bag posts. The most helpful example I found was this video. I measured my frame and decided on some basic features (zipper position, wide flare at front, inner pocket, materials, padding, etc). The more upfront planning, measuring and design you do, the less likely you will sew yourself into a corner. I highly recommend the ‘inside out’ technique shown in the video above. It means you can complete the entire bag on the machine without any hand sewing.

Materials & Tools

Here’s a list of materials, supplies and tools I used. This was determined largely by what I could find in Bellingham and my Mom’s attic (thanks, Mom!). I settled on some standard black Cordura because that’s what was on sale at Oyster Creek Canvas. Alternatively, you can find more selection online at Rocky Woods or Seattle Fabrics and all basics at your local Jo-Anne Fabrics. The X-Pac material at Rocky Woods comes highly recommended.

In total, I spent about $35 on materials and supplies, but I had almost all the tools at hand to begin with. If you don’t already have a sewing machine and general supplies, you’ll obviously need to spend more to get setup.

Materials

  • 1 x linear yard black 1000d Cordura fabric (500d, ballistics or X-Pac would also work)
  • 6 feet of velcro (1.5″ width cut into 9 pieces and trimmed later)
  • 1 x YKK zipper (20″ length and cut as needed) — waterproof zippers are available, but I decided against this because I find they require too much force to open/close
  • 1 x spool of black nylon upholstery thread
  • Some scrap material for internal pockets and perimeter lining  (OPTIONAL)
  • Wide bias tape for sealing inner seams (OPTIONAL)
  • Synthetic batting for inner padding (OPTIONAL)
  • Small piece of elastic for the pocket (OPTIONAL)

Tools & Supplies

  • Singer sewing machine
  • Singer 18 gauge upholstery needles
  • Rotary cutter
  • Fabric scissors
  • Lots of pins for fastening material before cutting and sewing
  • Sewing pattern paper
  • Fabric measuring tape
  • Long ruler for cutting straight edges
  • Mod Podge glue to prevent fraying and seal the seams
  • Scotch Guard for water repellant (spray the exterior when finished)
  • Tunes and caffeine!

Tour in Tune-20140210-002.jpg

YKK zipper (only one was used ), 1.5″ velcro and some scrap material for inner pocket and padding.

Preparing The Materials

Once I had my sewing pattern drawn out, I ironed my linear yard of Cordura and folded it in half with the right sides together and selvages lined up in order to create mirror images (two identical triangles and one symmetrical perimeter strip). In sewing speak, they refer to this as ‘cutting on the fold line‘, though this can be misleading since you don’t actually cut on the line itself! I pinned the pattern in place with the narrow perimeter strip on the fold line and used a rotary cutter and long metal ruler to make nice straight cuts.

Tour in Tune-20140210-001.jpg

I drew my pattern according to the inner dimensions of the front triangle, adding a half inch seam allowance all the way around. I folded the Cordura fabric in half to make sure the two sides were symmetrical. This is especially helpful in creating the symmetrical narrow strip that connects the two opposing triangular pieces.

Constructing The Bag

After cutting out my two triangles and perimeter strip, I started preparing the zipper hole. I decided against having four separate pieces joining the zipper (like the video) and opted for a single zipper slit, folding back the material to make room for the zipper. See sketch below (not to scale) illustrating the single slit method.

Screen Shot 2014-03-04 at 20.01.00
Solid lines for cutting, dotted lines for folding / seam allowance

Tour in Tune-20140215-003.jpg

I folded and sewed the half inch seams around the slit and sewed the zipper in place from behind.

Learning to use a sewing machine requires time and patience. Having never used one before, I had to learn some really basic skills before even starting on the frame bag.

Tour in Tune-20140215-004.jpg

I’ve learnt that sewing requires patient, steady hands. It helps to have a hot brew and some tunes!

Tour in Tune-20140215-005.jpg

I stuffed the inside perimeter of the bag with some synthetic batting to give some cushioning for my gadgets and snacks.

Tour in Tune-20140215-006.jpg

Working with the bag ‘inside out’, I attached the padded perimeter strip (top) to the zipper side triangle piece (bottom).

Tour in Tune-20140215-007.jpg

I made sure to position, pin and sew the velcro strips in place at the same time.

Tour in Tune-20140215-008.jpg

The padded perimeter section joins the two triangular side pieces whilst providing cushion and some style for the inside of the bag.

Tour in Tune-20140215-009.jpg

I used a strip of elastic and some scrap material to create an internal pocket.

Tour in Tune-20140215-010.jpg

I sewed the other triangle side piece in place, making sure to line it up as accurately as possible to avoid twisting and distortion. Finally, I applied some Modge Podge to the seams to prevent fraying and provide some amount of waterproofing.

Tour in Tune-20140215-011.jpg

Voilà! With everything sewed together, I was able to turn the entire bag ‘right side out’ and see it for the first time. I sprayed it down with a coat of Scotch Guard for added water repellency.

Tour in Tune-20140215-012.jpg

The internal pocket sits opposite the zipper side, making it easy to access.

The Finished Product

Tour in Tune-20140217-013.jpg

My new frame bag in situ, with the bottle cage moved to the fork using some Tubus rack mounts.

Tour in Tune-20140217-014.jpg

The bag turned out slightly too big for the frame, but this is handy for stuffing my jacket inside on hill climbs. The flair at the front provides a roomy nook for my camera.

Tour in Tune-20140217-015.jpg

It’s certainly not perfect, but not too bad for my first attempt!

The bag has done about five rides so far and no signs of failure yet… just really muddy!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: