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Today I finished a project I’d been working on for a while. My own messenger bag! For several years I owned a Timbuk2 bag that I really enjoyed. It worked great, was custom made, and served me well. Unfortunately, one night it was stolen from the back seat of a friend’s car through a smashed window. The bag was the most valuable part of that theft, since it had very little in it at the time, a pair of pliers that I miss now and again, and an old book I was reading.

It’s been about two years since that happened, and I still have not replaced the bag. I use a cheap Swiss Army laptop bag for my regular bag duties, and it functions, but pretty badly. It does not have the cross-wise stability strap necessary for a true cycling bag, and its internal compartments are terribly laid out. Not only that, its falling apart, wretched thing.

After comparing brands endlessly I found myself in a rut. I wanted a nice new bag, but I didn’t know who to buy from.. I could have it custom made from the ground up by Bagaboo in Hungary (nice bags), I could buy it off the shelf from Chrome, I could patronize Canada and get a PAC. The above are all great bags, but not exactly what I wanted, and not for what I wanted to pay.

Then I had a revelation, I decided to make my own!

I hit up a fabric store and found, in the remnant pile, several yards of black, grey and white camo vinyl, of the type used to upholster furniture. Its incredibly heavy duty waterproof material, and because no one in their right mind would upholster a couch with camoflauge, it was incredibly cheap.

The vinyl would be the liner, but I needed an outer layer. I did not feel like paying 12.00$ a yard for Cordura, which would have been the fabric of choice. I decided to go ‘old school’ and use some unbleached heavy canvas I had lying around. For color I ‘crystal wash’ dyed it with Procyon MX cotton dye.

I got some strap material and a few buckles at REI. Then I discovered that the company that makes most of these buckles, ITW-Nexus has a free sample program, and if you say you are a company, they will actually send you 15 free samples of their buckles, you pick what you want! I got most of my buckles free this way. They are very high quality buckles.

I designed my pattern in CAD, and then printed out a life-size copy using Adobe Illustrator. I taped together the many 11×17 sheets that came forth from the printer, and cut out my stencil. I cut out the pattern from the vinyl, and then from the canvas.

It is key to note that at this point I made a mistake. I dyed my canvas after cutting it, and during the washing process, it shrunk a bit. This messed up my pattern a bit, and caused me some trouble down the road. I should have dyed the whole piece of canvas, and then cut my pattern out afterwards.

I took my two pieces, and glued them together with 3M spray adhesive. I left the main flap unglued, however. I started by sewing the 2” D-rings into place. I reinforced the joints with the least graceful of all seamstering equipment, the pop riveter.

Then I began the process of sewing the main bag stitches. I was using a heavy duty upholstery thread, and a big fat needle meant for sewing leather. My friend’s mid-size Bernina had no trouble getting through the vinyl and canvas. I double stitched where I could. I began to suffer from the first of my shrunken canvas problems, as well. It was hard to get the canvas into all the seams, and so there are places where only the vinyl is sewn, and little loose flaps of canvas can pop out. It isn’t bad, but its unfortunate.

On one corner of the bag I looped a small piece of webbing with a 1” D-ring on it through the seam. This D-Ring would secure the cross strap that makes a crappy bag into a cyclist’s bag.

Once I had the main stitches in place, I began to add hardware. I was using 1” webbing for the auxilliary hardware, and so added two side release buckles, and ladder-locs for compression straps. The compression straps have been secured in place with more rivets. Because I had not yet glued down the main flap canvas, I was able to peel it back, and do all this sewing on the flap blind. That is, the items are sewn only to the vinyl, and the stitches disappear under the outer canvas layer when pulled down.

I added two large strips of velcro to the flap and the front of the bag. It is very beefy stuff, and had to be securely sewed in place, despite its adhesive backing.

I added a few more rivets here and there for good measure, and attacked the cosmetics. I used bias tape to sew a border onto the edges of the main pouch. Then I glued the main flap to its liner, and then ran a seam of bias tape along that edge as well.

To top it off, I took a 25 tooth cog from an unused cassette, polished it up, and riveted it to the flap of the bag with three pop rivets.

What is left to do? I’m going to fashion a set of interior pockets for holding pens and keys and stuff, and I need to get some more webbing for the cross strap, though all the hardware is in place. The main strap currently consists of 2” seatbelt style webbing with a cam buckle. The cross strap hardware slides up and down the main strap for easy adjustment, and comes with its own side release buckle. However, this strap is subject to lots of change. The strap is in many ways the most intricate part of this type of bag, and it warrants experimentation. This is why I didn’t sew the strap directly to the bag, opting instead to use D-Rings and snap hooks for easy strap interchangability. I’ll probably be stealing a cue from Chrome and using an old seatbelt buckle, once I can get myself down to the junk yard.

I need to find a suitable seam sealer for the interior seams to waterproof it, and I need to find a good cotton waterproofing compound for the outer layer.

Once I find a suitable carabeiner, I’ll be attaching it to the flap for a top handle.

What did I do wrong, or what would I do differently next time? I made the bag way too big. It’s huge. Giant. Bigger than I need, for sure. But it has good fit, so its OK. The next iteration will probably be much smaller. I’ll dye my canvas before cutting it next time. I’ll probably sew on more of my hardware before sewing the main stitches. It is awkward to move that whole big bag shape around while trying to stitch on a buckle.

However, I’m very happy with myself. See below for some photos, as well as an image of the pattern I used. You can emulate it if you desire.

The overall bag is about 23” x 13” x 9”, and I’m estimating practical capacity at 2700 cubic inches, or 44 liters. That is a big dang bag. When using the pattern, simple scale it until the bag is the size you want. You’ll need to adjust the size of the seam allowances and strap attachments if you vary the size too much.

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Here is the entire bag, in all its glory. As you can see, it’s pretty darn big. Dig on the crystal wash dye job, and the shiny cog.

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A closer image of the strap mechanism. This is subject to change as I figure out what I do and do not want in a strap. The snap hooks are a point of potential weakness, but they can be replaced with beefy metal ones once I settle on a strap design.

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The bag open, displaying the camo liner, and the velcro.

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This shows the compression straps on the bottom of the bag. They are riveted into place, and the Ladder-loc buckle for the compression strap is held in place by the bottom of the side release buckle strap for the main flap buckles. Clever, huh?

Compression straps are my favorite feature of bags, but are incredibly rare. Timbuk2 used to offer them as an option, but no longer does (that is actually the thing that caused me to reject purchasing another Timbuk2).

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This is where the cross strap connects to the bottom corner of the bag. The loop is sewn right into the seam, and there is a D-Ring and a snap hook for easy disassembly (like for flying).

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Here is the bag holding my helmet, to illustrate its size. I haven’t yet performed the customary “How Much Beer Does It Hold” test that all new messenger bags must be subjected to, because its lack of cross strap may affect my ability to carry that much beer. I’m guessing two 30-packs, plus a few extra bottles. It’s that big.

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Here is my skinny ass wearing the bag. Looks sharp, no? Actually, it dwarfs me. I think someone called that the “Turtle Effect”. Oh well, it’ll carry a lot of goodies.

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Here is the pattern for the bag. Just scale it up on the program of your choice, and print out on multiple sheets of paper to make a pattern stencil. Adobe Illustrator makes this easy, but I think other programs can do it as well. Remember to adjust the size of the buckle attachment points to keep them 2” and 1” wide, respectively.

I’ll update with more pictures once I get some interior pockets installed, and the top handle and cross strap.

In honor of Bastille Day and Sheldon Brown’s birthday, I present the following recipe for vegetarian (or easily vegan) French Onion Soup. I suggest drinking it with real Champagne, and a sip of Cognac.

Serves 5-ish.

Tools

• Large, flat-bottomed pan or pot with lid or electric griddle
• V-slicer or mandolin (not necessary, but handy)
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Wisk

• Oven-safe soup crocks

  Ingredients

• 10 medium sized onions, vidalias work nicely
• 4 T. butter
• Kosher salt (table salt OK)
• 2 c. dry champagne
• 32 oz. vegetable stock, low salt version if available
• 10 oz. apple cider, unfiltered
• 1/4 t. Marmite or Vegemite
• Thyme
• Bay
• Parsley
• 1 loaf Country-style bread
• Black pepper
• Cognac or VSOP Brandy

• 8 oz. Gruyere, Emmenthaler or other swiss-style cheese

  Procedure

  To begin, we prepare the onions, the heart and soul of the soup. Slice each onion in half, and cut off the root end and the stem end. Slice in a longitude fashion (north/south, if the onion were the earth), which produces little ‘crescent moons’. This slicing style is called Lyonnaise, for some reason, probably relating to the French city of Lyons.

  If you have a V-slicer or mandolin (no, not the instrument, the cooking tool), you can just blast the onions into tiny slices like a machine, and be done in a few minutes. This is my preferred method.

  Once you have sliced all the onions, wipe the tears from your eyes, and begin heating your pot. The pot or pan should be large enough to hold all the onions, have a large bottom, and be equipped with some sort of lid. A large electric griddle would actually work nicely. Set the stove to medium/low, or your griddle to 300 degrees.

  Toss the butter into the pan, and allow it to melt and bubble for a minute. When it smells like nuts, it’s ready. Add the onions to the pan in layers. Each time you add a half inch layer, sprinkle a pinch of salt over the onions, and lay down another layer. When all the onions are added, cover the pan, and wait.

  It is key to note that we are not sauteing these onions, we are sweating them. The salt will pull moisture from them, and they will begin to stew in their own juices. If you here active ‘sizzling’ you should lower the heat. You just want a gentle bubbling sound.

  Wait at least 20-30 minutes, and then give the onions a bit of a stir. Don’t touch them before then! If you notice they are beginning to burn, then rejoice, because that is what you want! Let them burn, let them turn a rich mahogany color. You are caramelizing the sugars in a series of chemical reactions known as Malliard reactions that convert a few simple sugars into literally hundreds of flavorful compounds.

  Stir every 5 to 10 minutes until your onions are a good mahogany color. They should smell fantastic. Once the onions are sitting in a pool of their own liquid, feel free to remove the lid, and bring the heat up a bit. This will allow some of the water to boil off, and get that delicious burning action going.

  When your onions are a good dark color, after perhaps an hour, it is time to deglaze the pan. You’ll notice that a bunch of gunk is stuck to the bottom of the pan. This gunk is precious. Crank the heat up to maximum, and add 2 cups of the driest white wine or champagne you’ve got. Let it cook down until it takes on a syrupy consistency. Pour yourself a glass of said wine. One thing a chef never does is let wine go to waste.

  At this point, add the 32 oz. of vegetable stock, the 10 oz. of unfiltered apple juice, and the 1/4 teaspoon of Marmite or Vegemite (we’ll get into the why later).

  Return to a simmer, and lower heat to medium/low. Tie the thyme, bay and parsley together with a piece of string (a bouquet garni), and toss it in. These herbs are delicious, but tough to eat, so we’ll remove them later.

  Simmer the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes. In the meantime, cut your crusty bread into rounds that will fit into your oven safe soup bowls. I like to use the bowls as big cookie cutters to help shape the bread. Fire up the broiler in your oven to maximum broil, and toast the pieces of bread on both sides, until golden brown and delicious (GB & D). This is also a good time to grate up some of your swiss cheese, enough to cover the surface of each piece of bread with a full layer.

  When the soup has simmered for 15-20 minutes, give it a taste. It will probably need a little salt, and a few good cranks of black pepper. Then, with a flourish, toss in a good splash of Cognac or VSOP Brandy. Don’t measure it out, just splash some out of the bottle, like the saucy chef you are. Stir it in, and let it cook for another moment, to burn off a little of the alcohol. However, realize that the claim that the alcohol ‘cooks out’ is a lie. Some of the alcohol will indeed cook out, but it is actually impossible to remove it all. If that bothers you, skip the Cognac, it’ll still be good. You could also use a little sparkling grape juice for the wine in the beginning, though it’ll be a bit on the sweet side.

  Ladle the soup into your bowls, avoiding the bouquet of herbs, and place a crouton (that’s the now French word for those toasts you made) onto each bowl, floating gently on the soup. Cover with a modest layer of cheese, and then back into the hot broiler with them! It will only take a moment for the cheese to become bubbly and melted. Pull them out (carefully, they are freakishly hot), add spoons, and then enjoy! The goal, when eating them, is to get a little piece of cheese and crouton in with every bite. If you get to the end and have too much soup, or too much crouton, prepare yourself another bowl, and get it right this time!

  I recommend more of that dry wine or champagne you used for cooking. Open another bottle if you must.

  Notes

  Here are some notes on ingredients that I find helpful. First, the onions. 10 onions is a lot, and variation in size can make a big difference. I urge you to not worry about it that much. Unless your onions seem oddly tiny, 10 is a good number. When in doubt, add another onion! I’ve used some real monsters before that only took 6. Vidalia onions are best, because they come from a region of Georgia that has a very specific soil chemistry with very little sulfur, meaning the onions have as much as twice the sugar content of other onions, and less ‘heat’ because of the decreased sulfur content. Sometimes I mix things up a bit and use a few red onions in the mix.

  Butter can be exchanged for olive oil if you are vegan, but if you eat dairy, I urge you to use the butter, it really does help a lot, and even though it looks like a lot, spread over an entire batch, it’s not much at all.

  The wine you use should be dry. Too sweet and your dish will taste like maple syrup. Good, but a bit oppressive for an entire meal.

  The quality of your vegetable stock will play a huge role on the quality of your soup. Get the best you can! Many canned stocks are very salty, so either get the low-salt variety, or the kind in the cartons, which is often less salty. I like Trader Joe’s brand. If you make your own stock, or know someone who does, get that, it’ll rock.

  The Vegemite/Marmite is an odd ingredient, but its one of the linchpins of this whole recipe! French Onion soup traditionally uses beef consomme, which is a beef stock that is so thick and rich that it actually will solidify at room temperature. It takes a long time to make, and is very concentrated. Unfortunately, its flavor is nearly impossible to replicate.

  However, if we understand the recipe, we can understand how to replace it. The onions have sweetness, the wine tartness, the herbs and cognac add bitterness, and the salt adds saltiness. However, those are not the only four tastes! The fifth, and least understood taste, is known as Umami, or Savory. It is technically the flavor of free amino acids, but you know it as that distinctive ‘goodness’ associated with mushrooms, meats, aged sauces like soy sauce, and aged cheeses like parmesan. It is also the flavor that MSG aims to add to food. Beef consomme is a rich and powerful source of Umami, and simply leaving it out will damage your recipe’s balance. To replace it, we must find another source.

  Vegemite and Marmite are two brands of a hydrolyzed yeast product derived from the sludge of dead yeast left at the bottom of beer brewing containers. Through some odd sorcery and technologies, this sludge is concentrated into a dark, vile smelling paste. This paste is spread incredibly thinly on pieces of toast, and enjoyed by the British and Australians. They love it because hydrolyzed yeast product is nearly pure amino acid, the very Umami we seek!

  The addition of this Umami to our soup will complete the delicate balance that is the dish, and allow us a vegetarian recipe that doesn’t emulate beef consomme, per say, but holds its own against it as a unique, but balanced creation.

  Oh, and just to dispel a common misconception, yeast is not an animal, it is a fungus (like mushrooms), hence it is acceptable for all vegan and vegetarian diets.

  As a final note, your cheese matters a lot as well. Store Brand swiss will not serve you well. I recommend a good Gruyere, or Emmenthaler cheese, both available in your finer grocer-mart’s cheese case. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s both have good cheese counters. Again, if you are vegan, leave out the cheese. You could sample some of the better soy based cheeses, but I’m not very familiar with them, so it would be an experiment on your part.

  Enjoy!