A DIY "Shootsac"

I posted a few months ago about the most beautiful shooting bag I've ever laid eyes on. And it's unfortunate $179 pricetag.

After coming so close to purchasing it one day, I finally decided I just couldn't do it. I'm way too frugal for that. So a few weeks later, I ventured out into the wide wide world to see what I could find. I had done a little bit of online research on how to make a Shootsac-type bag on my own so I had somewhat of an idea what I was looking for.

The reason you're getting all the details is because I promised them to a few people after my bag was finished. And also, I'm so super proud of my accomplishments. Well, okay I'm not that proud. But moving on....

I needed some basic supplies to get started. So first, I hit up the office store.

Neoprene laptop case. Check.

Then I drove to the craft store.

Quilting thread and strapping. Check.

And then I drove home.

Ok, this story isn't entirely true. I bought more things than I needed and actually bought double of everything because I had originally planned to make my bag a little different than what I actually ended up doing. I was going to sew two laptop cases together, giving myself a pocket in the middle for my clipboard or client paperwork. And I was planning to make an adjustable strap for the bag. I was also planning to make a cover for my shooting bag. But those details don't matter. So I'm not even going to tell you about them.

Here's what ended up happening:

First, I sewed three "pockets" into my laptop sleeve. Actually, again...that's not really what happened. I actually tried to sew four but when I reached the 4th pocket, I realized the pockets weren't going to be big enough so I started over. But I'm not even going to tell you about that part.

The laptop sleeves are patterned on one side. I don't really care much for the pattern, so I generally just flip it around and wear it with the black side out. That has nothing to do with my next step.

Next, I sewed on the strapping. I did a pretty terrible job with it because I was kind of in a hurry when I did it. I should really reinforce those, I suppose. You can see how the laptop sleeve had a zipper that unzipped all the way down one side. To remedy this, I simply sewed the strap over the zipper so it can't be unzipped.

I know, I'm so smart.

And finally, I filled the bag with my flash and a few lenses.

And wah-lah! My very own Shootsac-ish bag for about 1/6th of the price of the original! Sure, mine isn't quite as pretty and it doesn't have a cover yet, BUT...I kind of prefer the fact that my bag has a zipper, unlike the original Shootsac. It's a bit deeper than the original, but I have found that that's actually kind of convenient because I can store my extra lens as well as my camera body in it as well when I'm not shooting.

So there you have it! I'm a bit crafty! Oh, and I messed up my sewing machine.

So...not that crafty.