Frame Bag Planning

I've decide after doing some reasearch on different frame bag options to just build my own.  Should be an interesting process.  I looked all over, got some costs together, and truth be told, I don't think the price of $175-250 for a good custom frame bag is really reasonable to me.  It just seems to be a lot to spend that much.  I've spent plenty of money on bikes and bike related stuff but figure this is a good shot for me to try something on my own.

I've sewed a bit here and there, mostly back in middle school maybe when I took Home Ec class.  I have helped Kris sew things here and there and I guess what I've got going for me is a bit of a technical mind, being able to visualize where things will be if I sew different angles/cuts/etc and picture all of that. 

So, to start I have done some learning about materials.  I can say for sure what I'm going to use is X-Pac ripstop nylon, it's waterproof and rugged.  I'll do waterproof zippers, I'm thinking 2 on one side into the main compartment and one on the other for a map/thin stuff pocket.  I'm going to do some internal dividers to separate out parts so I can get a bit of organization going, and I'm thinking about some mesh pockets inside the big part as well so I can make some small items easily accessible.  I saw some bags use a lighter colored liner fabric to keep things easier to see - if I can find lime green I think I'll do that but may have to settle for yellow or white even. I think under the velcro that will attach to the frame I'll put some soft fleece to hopefully avoid scratching my beautiful Yampa.

I decided to find somebody with a bag I could look at for ideas - George lent me his Revelate/Salsa bag.  It's got a lot of room but with my XL Yampa I have a lot more room to work with.  The bag is nice with a lot of the touches I want to include on my finished bag.

Next step is to make a template to start thinking about measurements and what amount of materials I'll need, along with design ideas.  I don't think anybody is reading, but if you are and you want to give input, please do.

I'll get a more close up picture of my design ideas soon.

Rough material list so far:

• x-pac material - enough for 2 x side panels + top, bottom, rear wrap piece about 120mm wide, I think 1 linear yard should be enough
• liner material - same amount as the outer material, about 1 linear yard
• waterproof zipper material - one side will have a 22"ish zip and a 14"ish zip, and the other TBD, up to 22"ish.  I'll buy 2 yards of #8 zipper I think and a few zipper pull things.
• velcro - some 2" wide, some 3" wide, some 1.5" wide.  I'll have to decide here but I'll probably get a few different rolls. These will be for the connection to the bike, the internal dividers, and I'm not sure what else
• fleece to go under velcro on connections to the bike
• mesh material for internal pockets - not much
• elastic material for the mesh internal pocket tops - not much
•  Some nylon webbing for pulls to hold the bag when opening the zipper (George's bag has these and they are very nice)
• Some other nylon webbing for reinforcement
• Seam tape stuff to run around the seams on the inside of the bag, probably not necessary but will make it all look much more finished and nice.
• Thread - some sort of nylon, gotta figure that out. I think i'll do a contrasting color to the main bag fabric.  I'm thinking red thread on black bag to match the bike.
• Anything else?