It's an easy to make pattern that will be available as a PDF download on my blog, or you can make your own. This is an abbeviated tutorial. Post comments or questions.
The stuff you need for this messenger bag:
- 1/2 yard of attention getting fabric
- 1/2 yard of quilted fabric
- Leather goods for strap and pocket
- scissors
- thread
- sewing machine
The basic steps:
- Determine the length of the strap you need to go around bag and cross over your shoulder.
- Cut and attach interfacing to strap using spray fabric adhesive.
- Cut outside fabric pieces according to the size of your laptop
- Stitch outside of bag front to strap
Center and stitch recycled pocket on outside of back of bag.
Stitch other side of bag to strap
Cut quilted lining fabric pieces the same dimensions of your bag.
Stitch lining fronts and backs together and insert into bag, wrong sides to wrong sides.
Fold top of bag and top of lining over 1" and press
Cut, add batting, stitch, turn right side out and machine quilt the flap
Insert flap between back piece of bag and back lining of bag, pin.
Pin the entire top of lining to bag all the way around the top edge of bag. Topstitch everything in place 1/4" from edge.
Messenger Bags. While single in name (only for Messengers?), it’s has a world of uses. It’s a man-pocketbook, survival kit, case-of-beer carrying party starter, a hipster-cred worthy bag that goes everywhere and does anything. When I lived in Brooklyn, I envied my friends Portage Messenger Bag. I’ve had a few Timbuk2 bags in my lifetime, but I always desired a Philly-produced R.E. Load bag.
Being the hackerly type, I decided I’d try and use my non-internet skills to make my own Messenger Bag, out of fabric scraps and random parts laying about the house.
I plan to give these bags to my family as holiday gifts, to be used for everyday stuff, like hitting the grocery store, etc..
Getting the Basic Design
Using another bag as a rough guide (I liked the size and overall wear), I drummed up some rough measurements on some graph paper:
I converted the design to vector format, for the below illustration. I should point out the ‘inner fabric’ should be slightly larger than the outer fabric, on all sides. We’ll be folding it over any exposed edge and using a blanket stitch to ‘finish’ the edges. The boxes near the edges are for reference where the straps will be attached, it’s not necessary to mark them on the resulting fabric. You can click on the below thumbnail for a much larger JPG version.
So basically, you’ll need 2 types of fabric, one thicker for the outside, measuring 29″ x 42″ minimum. The liner fabric can be anything (I used rip-stop nylon), and measure 29″ x 53″ minimum. The two pockets can be the same liner fabric, folded into 2 layers, with the opening at the bottom of the bag. So you’ll need another 2 squares of fabric, 22″ x 19″.
Measurements don’t need to be too exact, as you’ll be trimming away the extra fabric after you finish your seams.
Adding the D.I.Y.
Next up, I transposed the design to a real-size sheet of paper. This was leftover seemless background paper for some old photo shoots. It’s a heavy stock, if not overly curled from years of storage. As the design is basically a few boxes side by side, a L-Ruler and 5 minutes, and I cut out my resulting template.
You’ll see here I’ve placed some 4.5″ zippers on my design (Yet another unfinished project part!). I was figuring placements and pockets for them while I was sketching the design.
The resulting template, a bit worse for wear, after a few uses.
Scrounging for Parts
As I burn a thousand DVD’s a year for my customers (I do VHS to DVD conversion as well as Vinyl To CD and more), so I’ve come to rely on buying these large 5″ media holders for years now (from one of my favorite online retailers, Computer Geeks.com!). Every time they come with a handy strap, which I immediately toss into my ‘reuse later’ bin. Digging though it now, I came up with plenty of straps and plastic buckles to properly outfit at least two bags. I’ve pictured them all below, in no particular order.
As for the outer fabric, I also happened to have some pleather vinyl from some old chair refinishing projects. This stuff is durable, soft, and colorful. The inside of the fabric is not so nice, but we’ll be covering it with a inner lining, so no matter.
Since you only need a piece 1 yard long, it’s cheap buying remnants down in Philadelphia’s Fabric Row. I also bought a bigger roll of ‘car-seat vinyl’ second-hand from American Science and Surplus.
Sewing Supplies
I really didn’t have any sewing supplies (being a bachelor and all), so a quick trip to my local drugstore got me a handful of items to begin: a Seam Ripper (I know I’ll be making mistakes!), some black and white thread, and a handful of sewing needles!
Transfer your Design to the Outer Fabric
With the ‘good’ side of your outer fabric down, put your template on it, and trace it onto the fabric. Then cut away the excess. You should end up with a stubby upside down T shaped bit. Below, see my red bag and brown bag as they are cut to size.
Next, we’ll apply the liner fabric. You don’t need to cut this before hand, as I find it quicker to just trim away the excess. In this case, put the ‘good’ side of the liner fabric down on your table. It should be larger than your outer liner.
Then, I spray it lightly with spray tack, all over the liner fabric. I roll up the outer fabric, then place it on the liner, roll it out and smooth it down, making sure there is a bit of room around all sides. Then I trim away the excess liner fabric leaving me with the two pieces joined together.
You can see I’ve already tacked on the liner fabric and trimmed it in both of the above photos. So much for taking pictures as I go along!
Bookmark and Come Back!
Well, I’m ready to start sewing, but you’ll have to come back in a few days to see part two of this developing build. My sewing machine is in need of a tuneup, so I’ll be hand-stitching this bag together. Come back for the sewing plan, plus photos as I go along. I’ll also be mentioning some tips you should adhere to before you begin this project. Let my mistakes be your lesson!
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:17:10 +0000 |
Jucy Lucy Designs
I need to learn how to design a web-site. I am planning to start this as a hobby and if all goes well, maybe even start a side job as a web-designer. What type of program should I learn? Is Microsoft FrontPage still good to use or is it no longer up-to-speed with other leading web-designing programs.
What other types of programs are out there that will help me with website design. Do you think Macromedia is a good choice? I know it’s a bit steep in price but I figure if I am to invest the time to learn the ‘difficult’ program, time is money, why be shy on one and not the other.
What about Adobe? Do they have a web-designing software?
Please share your thoughts. I really need the help.
I’m in Interactive Media, and I am going to learn Maya. I looked up the software online and it’s very expensive over $500.00.
I am going specifically for web design because I like designing and making pages. I need to know this because I want to know which software I will need to buy for homework and a future career. My school has a deal with Adobe for students. $237 for Flash, Dream Weaver, Fireworks and Contribute.
The Adobe Web Suite for students is an ideal package for you to purchase. The application bundled with it are used a great deal in the web design industry.
Other products are also available, but most don’t have the market share as the Adobe suite.
Maya is not used for web design, but is used to make 3D style graphics. Though 3D graphics are popular, they make up very little of the total number of images used in general web design.
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Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:17:00 +0000 |
Design Your Own Blog
CALL FOR ARTISTS
Summary
No Chains, a collaborative project undertaken by the two worker cooperatives “20th of December” (La Alameda) in Argentina and “Dignity Returns” in Thailand, seeks artists, designers, and activists to assist in creating images for a global “sweat-free” brand of t-shirts to be launched in April 2010. The application deadline is 25 February 2010. Five submissions will be chosen by the joint vote of both cooperatives in early March 2010 and produced as t-shirts that will be marketed to ethical consumers and distributed among unions, NGOs, labor activists as part of an international campaign to promote non-exploitative garment production, international labor solidarity, and sustainable workers’ self-management.
Background
On 12th March 2009 a representative from La Alameda met with members of the Dignity Returns cooperative in Bangkok. After discussing the factories’ respective goals and difficulties, members decided to jointly produce and advertise sweat-free goods both to act as a model for viable worker-operated garment production and to raise awareness about non-exploitative labor. Expanding their existing media networks and activist alliances, both cooperatives would participate in a coordinated campaign about safe and ethical consumption, while addressing abuses specific to the garment industry’s global supply chain, which depends upon the exploitation of gendered, migrant, and subcontract labor in Argentina, Thailand, and throughout the global South.
Aims
The No Chains project model will hold quarterly t-shirt design contests that invite the direct collaboration of artists, designers, and art collectives with the workers of La Alameda and Dignity Returns, of which February 2010’s selection will be the first installment. The momentum generated by a joint brand consistently renewed by artists’ participation, coupled with each cooperative’s longstanding commitment to labor activism, will enable No Chains to serve as a platform that highlights various labor struggles throughout the globe, connecting artists, consumers, and supporters at these important global flashpoints. While maintaining this momentum through the projects’ stability, both La Alameda and Dignity Returns will remain open to the prospect of collaborating with other worker-owned factories that wish to join in producing under the No Chains brand.
Submission Specifications
The Design
The design must represent the general theme of “No Chains”. T-shirt designs may be produced using any visual medium, but should:
1)be suitable for silkscreen reproduction on various colors of cotton fabric.
2)use a maximum of three colors.
3)be in .jpg file format.
The Artist/Designer
1)Please include a brief artist/collective bio, along with an optional artists’ statement. It may be 50-150 words long (if in English or Spanish). The file should be in MS Word, Open Office Writer, or as an .rtf file.
2)Artists must either grant the copyright of their submitted designs to No Chains, or place their design under a Creative Commons license by which No Chains is authorized to produce shirts bearing the design.
Translation Offered If Necessary
We are happy to assist with translation of brief phrases into Spanish, English, or Thai. However, please remember that because of the broad scope of existing labor networks, from Brussels to Jakarta to Porto Alegre to Seoul, it is best to communicate through a visual graphic image rather than through words.
Submission
Please submit your design or any further queries electronically by email to art at nochains dot org by 25 February 2010.
Remember: images must be as .jpeg files, and the description of the artist must be as Word/Open Office/.rtf files.
Selection Process
Maintaining a commitment to collective principles, the full memberships of both groups will decide on the selection of the five winning images by vote, and the results will be informed to the winning artists and also announced on the No Chains website www.nochains.org in early March 2010. The t-shirts will be marketed to ethical consumers, supportive labor unions, and NGOs. In addition, some NGOs will sponsor the donation of some shirts to members of selected workers’ struggles as they arise.
Because both collectives operate autonomously without access to external funding, No Chains is unfortunately unable to provide financial compensation for artists’ contributions that are adopted for use in the global “sweat-free” brand. However, artists whose work is selected will receive five shirts bearing their winning designs.
No Chains: www.nochains.org
Dignity Returns: www.dignityreturns.com
Mundo Alameda: www.mundoalameda.com.ar
Here it is:
My work can be seen viewed a collection of interdisciplinary inspirations and processes. Some may call me a jack-of-all-trades. Over time, my pieces have undergone several phases starting with a more computational bent to purely narrative, then graphic design, and now a culmination of all these aspects in game design projects. My academic background was in Writing Seminars (creative writing) at the Johns Hopkins University so my focus on games has revolved heavily on narrative, literary/literacy, and educational aspects of gameplay and interaction. Of course, a healthy dose of programming and graphic design is always present as well.
Some projects that I have worked on include heading up a creative team to produce advertising assets for the U.S. Navy to promote medical scholarships and opportunities on campus. The advertising campaign went on to win several national collegiate awards. At the same time, I specialized in writing flash fictions believing that the shorter and more impactful genre was the key to successfully engage an audience that is now constantly bombarded with media noise.
Now, I am aiming to combine these past ideas with games. While in the MFA Design & Technology program at Parsons the New School for Design, I have been using games as a way to integrate my interdisciplinary skills to produce educational and interactive media. For example, I created a digital choose your own adventure that is played on mobile devices like the iPhone. Due to its digital nature, the decision architecture is far more diverse than that of traditional CYOA. I am also helping a 2nd year student with his alternative reality game, a medium that advertising firms have been experimenting in recent years. Finally, I am working on projects for Google’s Android OS for mobile phones in anticipation to produce a digital-media-centric educational platform for a MacArthur that is partnered with several NYC institutions.
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:16:51 +0000 |
Art Design Free Nouveau Web
February 8th, 2010 at 11:37 am
0 since maya is used for 3ds graphic not web designing
References :
February 8th, 2010 at 11:43 am
I have seen some Maya software that has the Personal Learning Edition* (PLE) option where they’ll allow you to use the program for free. It’s great if you just want to learn.
References :
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=7639525
February 8th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
The Adobe Web Suite for students is an ideal package for you to purchase. The application bundled with it are used a great deal in the web design industry.
Other products are also available, but most don’t have the market share as the Adobe suite.
Maya is not used for web design, but is used to make 3D style graphics. Though 3D graphics are popular, they make up very little of the total number of images used in general web design.
References :
February 8th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
3D computer graphics software packages internally store Matrices, to keep track of which objects in the scene are where.
References :
February 8th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I have a degree in computer animation and I also do web design for a living. Maya is almost useless in web design. You need Photoshop for the visual end. You can create still shots with Maya but Photoshop is less complicated and will produce better 2d results
References :