u/dickangstrom

I've been working to switch careers into bag design, and I needed to bolster my portfolio. I had no projects that I could reference that I took all the way from pencil sketch to finished product. A family friend DM'd me to request a backpack for his first year of college, and I took that as an opportunity to design a backpack from scratch.

He provided me with reference pics of bags he liked, features he wanted, and a colorway. His preferred color scheme was mostly black with subtle blue highlights. However, I didn't want to make the bag overly paramilitary-looking. So I commissioned a graphic designer friend to make the design more playful with graffiti art of Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat.

This was a months-long project and one of my hardest ever. Pencil sketching is not my strong suit, but I really needed this for job applications. I spent hours on the initial sketch, trying my best to give it sensible 3D depth and layout.

I designed a pattern in CLO 3D and simulated on an avatar with similar proportions to the client. I didn't export / print the entire pattern, since most panels were rectangular. I only printed the curved ones, choosing to hand-draft the others for convenience.

I used a 1050 Denier ballistic nylon for the main fabric, 400D ripstop nylon as a secondary fabric, and 70d ripstop nylon for the liner. I chose Duraflex hardware wherever possible, e.g. D-rings, side-release buckles, triglides.

Sewing was mostly straightforward, except for the cinch-tops on both the water bottle holders and the main bag opening. I also didn't know where the cross-chest strap would land until after wearing the bag. I didn't have any Duraflex removable sternum sliders on-hand, so I sewed the chest strap directly to the shoulder straps; that's one thing I would redo if I had more time.

I dye-sublimated the Sub-Zero art and artist's tag onto some dye-sub synthetic fabric and backed it with upcycled racing-sail fabric. It attaches with snaps so the client can take it off (he doesn't actually like Mortal Kombat and didn't even ask for this lol).

Part of design portfolios is iteration, so I forced myself to sit down and sketch some "postmortem" drawings to document the lessons I learned from making this bag. They've been helpful reminders so far.

Overall, I'm quite happy with this one and proud of the results. Happy to answer any questions about material, process, design, CLO 3D, etc.!

I wanted a quick-ish way to test colorways using fabrics I own, so that I wasn't tempted to buy more fabric for upcoming projects. I whipped up a simple pouch pattern in CLO 3D to test some colorways based on the approximate colors and basic textures of some real fabrics i had on hand.

The idea was that I can make a full-sized backpack from a colorway once I've made a pouch with the same elements.

These pouches were meant to be medium-quality, quick-and-dirty test bags, but I ended up liking them enough to develop them into usable everyday cross-body bags.

I didn't choose both colorways from the CLO model, opting for a brown, orange, and black combo for my second build.

I love the aesthetics of them, and the size is perfect for phone, keys, wallet, sunglasses, and EDC stuff like lens wipes. I can even fit a book in the main pocket.

After some wear testing, I can say that the usability is kind of bad. The snap flap that seals the main pocket is annoying to fasten, and the rear pouch is almost totally inaccessible while wearing the bag. The G-hook grips the webbing so tightly that nothing will fall out, which is nice.

A fun project overall, so I wanted to share. Happy to answer any questions!

I've been sewing bags for 2-3 years now, and I've mostly used existing patterns or made hand-drafted ones, but I'd never modeled an accurate bag in 3D until this project.

I've been taking CLO 3D classes through Parsons / TheNewSchool, and I've learned how to sew in 3D as a result. The classes are heavily focused on garment construction, but the same principles can be applied to bag-making.

I chose to model a Disc Golf bag, since I've made one before. I was able to design the panels, "sew" them together, generate a PDF pattern, print, cut, and assemble the bag without too many issues. Made some bonus wallets from the scraps.

There are definitely some gotchas when modeling bags in CLO, such as having to simulate the bag standing up by adding internal pressure, as well as disabling gravity sometimes. This can give the bag kind of a "marshmallow" or "jumping castle" look.

I wanted my shock-cord zipper pulls to be accurate, and I had no idea how to do that in CLO, so I used Blender to model the pulls as bezier curves with a texture applied, then exported as a glb file.

The pattern isn't quite ready for release yet, but I plan to make a revision, build one more, then release the pattern for others to use. Let me know if you're interested in the comments, and I can ping you when I release it.

My Chrome Industries backpack is a roll-top that sometimes leaves me scrambling to take my laptop out at the airport. So, I made an add-on compartment for it that holds a keyboard, laptop, and USB cable. I attached some 1" webbing so I can hook more pouches into it for a mouse, numpad, game emulator, etc.

The inside is lined with something like neoprene, and I sandwiched some 1/8" EVA foam between the outside and inside cloth on all sides.

I'm very pleased with the stability of the addition when it's strapped to my Chrome bag. I was worried it might bounce or sway, but the locking D-clips I used on the sides keep it mounted really tightly.

I made this in a 12-hour scramble before flying, so the insides are not seam-taped with Grosgrain like I would usually do, but it'll hold for now.