Sunday, January 23, 2011

DIY Camera Bag



You can't very well carry a nice camera around without a proper bag. I really wanted to find one that didn't shout, "Hey guys! Expensive camera equipment in here!" Unfortunately, the options I found were either one or all of the following: ugly, bulky, WAY expensive. Not having it!

Inspired by this camera bag hack kit article, I decided to find a cute, durable, inexpensive bag and make some cushioned inserts for it. Tibuk2 actually had a perfect one on sale for $35 (now it's $29, dammit!).

I ordered that bag online, then I picked up some 1/2 inch foam, and some SUPER CUTE LARGE PRINT fabric at Jo-Ann's.



I couldn't choose between these two prints, so I got a yard of each - both 50% off. Figure I could put the other one to use somewhere else fun. The lady at the counter threw me a bone and scanned a coupon that gave me 40% off one non-sale item (the foam!). I got out of there spending about $13.



I made up a rough plan (it's how I roll), and jumped right in. The basic idea was to make a long pillow-ish sleeve that would be stuffed with 3 separate pieces of foam, and would fit in the bag like a capital U when folded. Then make 2 smaller end pieces to attach to the U to make it more of a box, and make 2 dividers pieces.











There were a few mishaps, one minor self loathing meltdown, some seams that required ripping and resewing, endless crooked stitches, hours longer than I anticipated, but in the end...



... I don't hate it! In fact, I'm totally happy with it. When it's closed it looks just like a normal little messenger bag, and both lenses and the body have their own cushy spaces. Plus, it has so many little zippers and pockets built in that I can totally stash my license, cell and ATM card in it and forgo the purse when I take it out.



Success!

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