Making It Up As I Go Along

I’ve been working on a sewing project. Usually I can imagine the project very clearly from start to finish, even if I’m winging it along the way. This time I’m making a small messenger style bag out of recycled/repurposed fabric from clothing. I know what I want it to look like at the end, but I am having to slog through every single intervening step. So far it’s all working out, but my brain cells are working overtime. Either that or I’m sleep deprived and fuzzy headed - or both!

UPDATE: It’s finished! It’s funky and quirky but I like it. So does Chuck. That’s good because it all started with an idea to have something bigger than a belt pack and smaller than a back pack for either of us to use on short hikes. Especially when we go off on the Carriage Trails in Acadia National Park up in Maine.


I made the outside body from an old pair of Chuck’s canvas weight walking shorts. I lined the bag with corduroy from the legs of a pair of Chuck’s retired slacks. The flap is the back pockets of a torn pair of Chuck’s dungarees. To give it a little more body, I added a layer of quilt batting behind the lining fabric. For now, we’re clipping the “store bought” shoulder strap through the shorts’ belt loops. That strap normally is attached to our laptop bag. We love that in addition to the main pouch, it has eight other pockets to stash things in.