Bag Brainstorming

Hmm! Bags, hunh?

Well, when I first read that our "next assignment" (you can tell I'm a student), I intially thought of sewing a handbag. A purse, per se, that I could carry around my wallet, keys, cell and other life's essentials around in. But as I thought about it some more, I only really use purse like bags on weekends or evenings, as on weekdays I'm lugging around a backpack. I carry a laptop from home to school and back again each day. Granted its only a wee 12" powerbook, so it doesn't take up *that* much room and I could sew a handbag that would fit the computer.

However, I've noticed that lately I've been spending a lot of time surfing certain messenger bag companies. I want a messenger bag. Although so much more feminine, a shoulder bag isn't entirely practical, as I sometimes ride a bike to school (even when I have a skirt on). When I first came up with the crazy idea to sew myself a messenger bag, I had to come to terms with the fact that I don't want to sew one out of any old fabric. I want one that would be just as durable as a store bought one (without paying 100$ for it). I know that I want this messenger bag to be made out of cordura or ballistic nylon...and I have a felling that I want the primary colour for this bag to be orange. After an hour or two of googling, I finally found a company with a wide array of fabric (codura, ripstop nylon and others) and notions for sewing bags. I believe that Mountain Equipment Co-op, a Canadian version of R.E.I. uses the same supplier for its cordura.

Although I haven't yet place an order with Textile Outfitters I've been thinking about what features I want for the bag. Do I want the front to be plain (a solid colour) or do I want to adorn it in one way or another? Do I want there to outside pockets, an internal divider, a pen holder, a cell phone holder, or other misc pockets? These are all things I need to think about. Not to mention the colour scheme, and what kind of bias tape will I use!

Please excuse me while I return to brainstorming.

signed lori z