The Sewing Place
The Emporia => Access All Accessories => Current Projects => Topic started by: Bill on July 13, 2021, 11:18:52 AM
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I've spent ages looking for small pannier bags for my bike that don't cost an arm & a leg and aren't fugly. No success.
Sew, since I'm now a tailor wannabe with mediocre skills I figured I'd have a go at making my own.
This isn't the final version by any means, just a test run to test my stitch strength and neatness and figure out any problems for when I start the real thing.
I'm quite pleased with myself! :D
Straps and buckles to be figured out and what to use as a stiffening board which will have the pannier rack clips screwed to.
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That looks a neat and tidy solution. :thumbsup:
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Looks good - are you going to seal the seams?
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@Bodgeitandscarper not on this one but for the finished one, yep. I'm not how I'll do that though. Not a clue. :thinking:
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I think I'd try the seam sealing glue type thing, rather than tape.
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Very neat and tidy @Bill :)
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Well done @Bill, nice colour and very neat
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You buy Jaffa Cakes by the Kg ????? :faints:
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Umm.......... :D
£2.99 for the box so it seemed a shame not to. How else am I sposed to keep my awesomely manly muscular figure? :cough:
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I think I'd try the seam sealing glue type thing, rather than tape.
That goes on after the sewing I'm guessing?
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Umm.......... :D
£2.99 for the box so it seemed a shame not to. How else am I sposed to keep my awesomely manly muscular figure? :cough:
So that’s why you need the panniers! Have you made another one for the other side of the bike for the other kg of Jaffa cakes? To balance the bike out of course :P
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And…
So, you also think using the word sew at the beginning of the sentence let’s you off the hook eh?
Literally very clever!
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Sew @Andymat :P I've made some progress.
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Copying an idea from my carradice panniers I'm using tent material to close up the insides before closing the lid...
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But here's the first problem I can't fix. The inside corners where 3 sides join up are looking like a pigs rear end due to bunching up. What would be the best way to trim these edges without causing holes to appear?
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2nd problem is that once I've sewn the lid and bag together, getting both ends under the machine to sew them together is proving to be a real challenge. It's not the most pliable fabric in the world and I'm in no hurry to either strain the machine or snap needles through manhandling them. Any ideas?
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Aaaaaaaaaaand as usual the pics got messed up. %+#@!
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Personally, I wouldn't worry about those corners, they look fine, no-one will notice.
As for the lid, (obviously far too late to say this!) I think I'd have had the lid as a continuation of the back panel, but how about just attaching it with some of the strap webbing rather than trying to sew it on across the back?
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Personally, I wouldn't worry about those corners, they look fine, no-one will notice.
I 2nd this although I can understand how you feel about it. If you were really worried I suppose you could line the inside?
As for sewing the top and the bottom together (which I think I understand is what you want to do)...
Do you need to sew the two main pieces together? Could you just continue the black strap round the back of the lid and sew it to the bottom of the main pannier? Then you would only have to sew the straps on each part rather than try to sew both top and bottom together. This would mean you would probably have to unpick the strap on the top :( . It might also mean that spray from the wheel in the wet could get thrown upwards under the overlapping top and into the bag I suppose. In which case you could add some more of your tent material as a bridge between the two parts, ie an extended hinge, and use the strap going round the back to hold the lid in the correct position when fastened. Hope you can understand what I'm trying to describe. It might make it easier to sew a thinner piece of fabric to each part rather than sew the two thicker parts together.
However overall, I am very impressed! It looks quite small. Is it for the front wheel? Have you done another for the other side? How are you going to fix them on the bike?
I made some (plastic) clips using a nylon 3D printed process for my old panniers a while back which were reasonably successful although not perfect.
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Corners on the inside wont be seen ... Dont sweat it.
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Thanks for the ideas folks :)
The corners indeed won't be seen by anyone but I'll know they're there. My biggest critic is me but I have done a slightly neater job on the 3rd version. Just snipped the corners off before sewing.
I've managed to sew the lid on. Twice actually. The 1st time I got it finished then realised I'd sewn it on back to front. Bury head in hands and swear silently to myself moment :laughing: 2 pieces of strap sewn to the original straps like hinges. Crude but it's worked although I'll be refining it for the final finished bags.
These are just mock ups @Andymat so I can figure out problems etc. Better messing up these than the finished ones.
Doing a pair for the front rack for now and if all goes well I'll be adding rear panniers and a bar bag. All in dark blue to match the bike :D
Fitting. That's a tricky one. For now, I've decided on an inside pocket into which I'll slide a pre drilled alloy plate. They'll stop the bags from sagging and will enable me fit 2 fixed clips on the top and 1 lower adjustable clip for the front bags. The rear bags will have a similar design but the top clips will be adjustable too. I've found the top clips on various online bike shops but the bottom ones are proving difficult to source. Some fettling may be required.
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I'm picturing the pig's arse! Never seen one up close - is it pleated or gathered??
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Super job! Really well done.
I'm with @Bodgeitandscarper - why worry about the corners? I would say that structural strength is more important than anyone bothering to empty out your metric ton of jaffa cakes to inspect how neatly trimmed your internal base corners are. And if they do go to that much bother, you can either beat them to death with the aforementioned metric ton of jaffa cakes, or your bare hands having been suitably fortified by.......a metric ton of jaffa cakes.
Either way, don't sweat it - your finishing looks great to me and you could always just cover it with waterproofing seam tape, should it keep you awake at nights. Though that's more likely to be indigestion from eating too many jaffa cakes.
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Finished 'em! Sort of...
I need to drill the alloy plates on the backs, fit the clips and wash the white pen marks off.
Pretty chuffed with myself :D
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They look really good, very impressed. :perfect10:
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Wow they look really professional :perfect10:
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Great job! Looks like you overcame your problem of the lids by just attaching them with the straps? Did you seam seal them, or will you use waterproof bags/dry bags inside?
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Thank you ladies :D
@Bodgeitandscarper I'm undecided on that one. I already have dry bags aplenty but those are just extra faff when trying to get something. I'm leaning towards sealing but I've made that many holes through pinning, sewing, unsewing etc it might be like trying to plug the Titanic. Dry bags I think might be a last resort if all else fails.
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@Bill Test them for waterproofness under the shower 0_0
I have fully waterproof Ortlieb panniers, but still used dry bags when cycle touring as it helped to organise stuff. I guess it depends what you are using them for.
How about covers instead? I know, more faff...
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These are just for carrying food and maybe a light rain jacket etc. Saves opening up the rear bags...which I plan on making to match the front :)
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They look really professional, I'd be well pleased if I'd done them @Bill
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Very nice @Bill ..
You will cycle with style.
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Wow - !!! Well done -
and not just for someone with :mediocre skills: as you say.
Brilliant and much happiness as you ride with these!
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They look great @Bill well done
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Have got around to photographing the clips I did for my small front pannier. They were made using a process called Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) which produces effectively a pretty strong Nylon part.
The top ones I think you are sorted with. The bottom one relies on the top clips being prevented from sliding along the top rails, by vertical bars on my rack and hook behind the rack bars at the bottom. They will only come off when the top is released. Idea borrowed from something I had seen elsewhere.
Your bags look great - I assume these are the final ones now?
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You've made a superb job of those @Bill No stopping you now :)
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Thank you for all your kind words! :D
I might just get my head through the doorway :laughing:
These are indeed the final version @Andymat and I now have the top clips fitted. I've gone for rixon&kaul clips there although I think they need an extra bolt to fasten to the back plate. Currently there's only one bolt per clip which seems to be chancing it.
A member of a cycling forum has directed me to some bottom clips made by ortlieb which should fit. Awaiting their delivery now. Once those are fitted I can get onto proofing the seams and then it's a test ride. Nervous? Me? :scream:
Your clips look the business. I always wondered if the plastic used in a 3D printer was up to the task of surviving the abuse a typical bike takes. Have you put much weight on yours?
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Your clips look the business. I always wondered if the plastic used in a 3D printer was up to the task of surviving the abuse a typical bike takes. Have you put much weight on yours?
Yes, the parts are very strong and usable but not all 3D printers will produce a usable part. The SLS process is the only one I know of that will produce a usable part and the machines that use the process cost £500,000 upwards so I get parts by mail order through a bureau company in London. SLS uses powdered Nylon and uses a laser to melt the material in the required positions, layer by layer and you get a pretty much solid part. Nylon is a very strong plastic and probably what your rixon&kaul clips are moulded in.
I wouldn't risk any other 3D printing process though for usable parts - the machines you buy cheaply and for home use are generally for visual use only with no strength at all.
My pannier that these are fitted on, originally had plastic coated metal hooks and an elastic stay at the bottom but loaded up, the hooks would jump off and so I made these to be mechanically fixed on the bar. I have push the tab to release the clip. Works great.
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My latest make is this...
A campsite wash bag. Pam was struggling to carry all her soaps and lotions and potions and towels and clothes and anything else you could think of to the showers on our last camp trip.
My original idea of a dinky curved back pack didn't go too well but Pam said she loved my panniers and if I could miniaturize one? Why not!
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Wow that’s gorgeous and what a great shape. You can’t post this and then say you are bored :devil: Get back to that sewing machine :perfect10:
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These are the 3rd incarnation of my bar bag. It was going well until it came to piecing the inner lining to the outer as there's an alloy box frame sandwiched between the layers. Sure as sugar can't stitch through that! So, what to do...
First thought was using steel poppers. More thought on that rendered it non workable.
Zip? Nah.
Velcro! That's simple and doable. So off I set.
Finished bag fits well around the frame but the lid is too tight to be easily usable in use on a bike tour and it doesn't cover the pocket tops like I planned. The lining is a bit too loose/baggy and the velcro fastening is both ugly as the pm and equally as flimsy. Fail.
What to do. Unpicking isn't an option. I'd need a microscope to find the stitches.
So, it's either a 4th attempt, ugh, or just give up and accept defeat, which would be annoying.
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I agree with all that Bodgie says. Don't worry about the inside corners so long as they look neat on the outside and reduce the nuber of seams wherever possible.
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@Bill Could you add a flap to the lid to cover the pockets?
It seems a shame to give up, take a look at the rubbish they sell at exorbitant prices and you may not be so hard on yourself ;)
BB
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Thank you ladies :D
@Bodgeitandscarper I'm undecided on that one. I already have dry bags aplenty but those are just extra faff when trying to get something. I'm leaning towards sealing but I've made that many holes through pinning, sewing, unsewing etc it might be like trying to plug the Titanic. Dry bags I think might be a last resort if all else fails.
If you wanted to make them waterproof you could always add one of those elasticated rain covers like you get on a rucksack, it's attached to the top of the bag and you just roll it out over the pannier if raining. Good job they look very professional
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The new panniers were more or less finished last night. I need to give them a spin in the washer to remove the chalk lines and quarter inch tape and then waterproof the seams. A trial run of the waterproofing process suggests this will be a time consuming job.
I adapted the previous design a little to cut down on the amount of sewing and fiddliness as both lead to weak points. I also swapped out the original alloy backing plates for correx sheet. This saves weight and makes for a simpler build. I've used smaller buckles too as the last ones were huge compared to the bag size.
These ones are for carrying food on the front pannier racks so the next job is to make a set for carrying heavier, bulkier stuff on the rear rack.
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Wow @Bill they look amazing really professional well done.
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Brilliant job @Bill :thumb: well done.
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Great jobs @Bill, they look as good if not better than some of my proffesionally made camera bags :thumb:.
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Excellent job @Bill :perfect10:
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They look fantastic, @Bill
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They look great, it's good you can buy all the hooks and stuff these days.
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Wow @Bill they’re fantastic and look so professional!
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Well done, Bill, those look mighty fine to me. :perfect10:
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Makes me want to go on a bike tour this does :thumb: Nicely done Bill
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What a great project @Bill . Beautifully done <3
Jessie
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Thanks everyone :D
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They look great, it's good you can buy all the hooks and stuff these days.
The big bags are being cancelled. Hooks and stuff have come to just over £55. Ridiculous. :(
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Wow @Bill, that's a horrific price and such a shame as you were doing an excellent job. Is there no chance you could try an alternative fastener, perhaps like strap and buckles?
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It's on my mind @Surest1tch
If I figure it out or someone else tells me the answer I'll start them again. I was hoping to do a full set of bags for the bike, all matching, all memade.
Working on a handlebar bag atm. Again.
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Sorry I can't offer any suggestions, but I gotta say, those bags do look pretty amazing. I'm sure you'll figure something out, keep up the good work
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I would look out for charity shop stuff that you could scavenge.
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Just Awesome!!!
Love Your eye to detail!
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@Bill What brand are your hooks? How about looking for old tatty panniers on ebay to re-use hooks off them?
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@Bodgeitandscarper the current ones are R&K for the top hooks. The bottom one is Ortlieb. I can still get the R&K ones but it seems ortlieb no longer sell/make the bottom one. It's been replaced by a different rail which I'd have to buy the hook separately.
I looked into using the hardwear from an old set of panniers I have but they would be too big to fit on the panniers I plan on making.
There isn't a big market for these things as few people make their own and they rarely break hence the high cost.
The front ones I was able to cut corners with the hooks etc as they won't be taking much weight. The rear bags however will need some serious strengthening where the hooks attach so the rails which the hooks screw to are needed as well.
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@Bill do Altura do the parts?? I'm pretty sure Ortlieb do, but they would be pricey.
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They do but not full sets and their rails are kinda long.
I'm sourcing parts (or trying to) from sjs cycles if you know them. They have pretty much every part any cyclist could ever need but pannier bag parts seem to be rare as hen teeth.
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Yes, SJS are very good for all sorts of bits, I often buy from them.
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I think I've come up with an idea...
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I've settled on a cylinder shape for the handlebar bag.
You can never have too many clips. :S
I've still to figure out if I'll be able to get the correx board stiffener into the sleeve after I've sewn the ends. I'm leaving a gap at the zip to insert it but will it bend easily enough to go around? And will I be able to finish the other side of the zip once it's in?
:thinking: :thinking: :thinking:
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Youve got a nice set up there @Bill
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This all looks very professional @Bill .
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Looking good @Bill I need to take a leaf out of your book re the neat workspace… [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
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@Bill
I wouldn't try and insert it at the zip end, do it from the other end, that will be easier to sew up after it's in. No, forget that, I read it wrong! Your zip is along the tube isn't it? :facepalm:
Is correx the sort of corrugated stuff? I think a thin plastic sheet, something like the very cheap chopping boards you can get on amazon would be better. Correx may well fold if you bend it in line with the corrugations, and I don't think it will bend the other way. Let me also just check some stuff I have, back in a mo.
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Here you go. The thin sheet underneath is a very cheap chopping board, but the roll of stuff is much more rigid.
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I thought at first you’d put lights on the end of the bag! :laughing:
It’s ok. I do have an eye test booked.
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@Cazlyn I started off with a similar setup as you, on the kitchen table. Got tired of packing it all away every time for dinner etc sooooo, I got rid of my clothes drawers in the bedroom and moved it all into a corner. The tables I bought from amazon for about £50 each. Plastic drawers for bits and bobs about the same and I've a little wheeled trolley next to the table for fabric storage. I need to get the threads off the wall and into some sort of drawer or box as they get dusty sitting there and uv damage. Not as neat and tidy as a horn cabinet, but it does the job. At the expense of bedroom space.
@Bodgeitandscarper yup it's corrugated plastic stuff. Accidentally bought 2 8x4 sheets of it!
:laughing: Way more than I needed but at least I'll not run out anytime soon.
It came rolled along the grooves. So if it were stood up on end, the grooves are horizontal. My thinking is that because its a cylinder, its less likely to lose shape through bending. The ends are also stiffened with correx. If it fails I'll just make another one but in box form. :)
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I thought at first you’d put lights on the end of the bag! :laughing:
It’s ok. I do have an eye test booked.
It's not a terrible idea. At least drivers would be more likely to notice me :laughing:
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HWMNBN built a woodburner out of corex for us to decide whether the size was right for the space available (It was)
I have a pic somewhere and will post IF I find it ... not much chance of that tho'
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So far I've been able to sew around most of the ends and I've squeezed the insert in.
I've still to sew the remaining zip on and I can't do that till I finish the sides, which near had me scrapping the whole thing. The area needing sewing is the junction where the zip meets the sides and is spectacularly tough to sew through. Pliers were needed to push and pull the needle through!
I'm not happy with the finish here...
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This end is what nearly caused its demise...
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Pams had the idea that I could glue it all in place then sew. Not sure if it's gonna work but I'll try that tomorrow. If that fails, it's going in the bin.