Converted knapsack making and question

[Silex]

For a little winter project I planned to make a two-strap knapsack.
The ticking I had still laying around from patch material and the outer linen I got from the good will store (old pillow cover). I removed all the stitches of the old pillow cover and layed out the material. As I wanted a lined sack.
Then reverted the material and first stiched the ticking and the cover together.




The linen strip was a tad longer, I decided to leave it on and sow it over the top:




Then I stiched the sides of the sack:



That's the finished sack:


Now here comes my questions:
I want to put on a leather flap and two leather straps.
But I can't make my mind up how to attache the straps.
There are two possible ways:

One, I sow the straps on at the top and sow the links on at the bottom front then it will be bent under the bottom of the sack to the back:


Two, I only sow the strap and use a roundball and thong to attach the link.






What do you say?

Silex

 

[flintlock75]

Option 1. When you sew on the leather bases use a thin piece of leather inside as a backer, this will sandwich the cloth between the leather and will take the stress off the fabric.
Using the round ball method is fine for emergency work but why do that when you can have a nicely sewn pack.

 

[Silex]

Thank you for nudging me.
I actually like the option 1 better myself - the kids and wife, too.

Well there is no argueing now :grin:

Meanwhile the flap is on:


I know the stiching isn't perfect - but I sure had a lot of fun doing this.

Thanks again,
Silex

 

[Mickc01]

I think it good great!! :hatsoff:

 

[BrownBear]

Using the round ball method is fine for emergency work but why do that when you can have a nicely sewn pack.

I'll nudge a little further based on experience mixed with speculation.

In my experience, the corners on bags take the greatest beating and show the most wear. Here's the speculation part: Will those balls increase the wear, and perhaps pop through someday? If they do, things will get awkward for you.

I agree on having a tab of leather inside the bag at each point for "backing," then stitching your straps through the fabric and the tabs.

As for the stitching? I think it's perfect. I don't want my hand stitching so good it looks like a machine did the work.

Great job on the bag, but I'd put some more thought into the strap attachment.

 

[Silex]

Thanks again!

inside tabs - done
sewing straps either end - done
Trying it on I possibly should have put the lower fasteners right at the corners - but I will try it with weight first and then will see.

Here is the product. The only thing left is buttons or straps.





Thanks for looking,
Silex

 

[Billnpatti]

I think things are coming along very nicely and you are going to end up with a very nice bag of which you can be rightly proud. If I may make a suggestion for future "first" projects, I obtain the cheapest fabric that I can use to make a prototype. I use a very loose stitch to assemble the item so it can be easily ripped out if I need to make adjustments or refinements. Once I have it as I like it, I simply disassemble my prototype and use it as a pattern for the finished product. This method also allows me to work out the best steps for assembly. If I sew a part and then find that I should have sewn a different part first or assembled in a different order, I can correct it on the prototype and avoid the mistake on the finished project. Just a thought for your consideration. :hatsoff:

 

[Silex]

Thank you!

That is a very good idea!
The fabric itself was pretty cheap but I see the value in having a pattern and tweaked out assembly.

It may sound strange but sewing this sack I thought I might try my hand at a shirt next and then maybe on to breeches. There comes your plan because linen in yards is pretty expensive so I will try with cheaper fabric first.

Actually I have two boys (7 and 4) and I am contemplating to take them to a rendezvous this year - so there is plenty opportunity to learn sewing, because they need at least shirts, I think, to fit in.

Thanks again,
Silex