Posted by John Swensen on June 07, 2001 at 19:49:20:
In Reply to: Making a Gig Bag posted by Jess Ryan on June 07, 2001 at 18:11:41:
I have not made any gig bags, but I did make a briefcase-like bag that matches my red Reunion Blues bag, and has compartments for orchestral excerpts, other books, and pockets for valve oil, tuners, metronomes, etc. Had a commercial bag with these features been available, I would have gladly purchased one, especially after fighting with my wife's sewing machine to sew through multiple layers of heavy nylon Cordura.
Depending on what material you want to make your gig bag out of, it may be difficult to sew your own bag for significantly less than buying a cheap bag (possibly a used bag?), ready made.
With that caution, the Rain Shed, in Oregon, has a mail-order catalog and sells heavy nylon Cordura in weights and (some) colors that are similar to those used by Reunion Blues (800 Denier heavyweight coated Cordura seems the closest weight match). Last I checked, they don't have a website, but several sites on the web list their phone numbers. I have been very happy with their service, and they sell swatch sets of fabrics (usually a dollar for a set of 30 small squares). They also sell closed-cell padding, nylon zippers, straps, buckles, needles, and threads that are appropriate for these materials.
For a pattern, I would suggest cutting up cardboard boxes and taping pieces together to get a shape that will work for you. When you are happy with your cardboard gig bag, cut the tape apart and trace onto fabric, leaving extra for seam allowances. You will, also, need some padding and a liner, and you must compensate for the different thicknesses, to some degree (the inside of the bag is smaller than the outside).
Maybe if you went with a top-loading bag, you could avoid the zipper and its difficulties.
You will need lots of reinforcing and stiffening where the straps attach.
If saving money is your goal, make a pattern first, calculate how much nylon, padding, liner, strap material, buckles, thread, etc. that you need, and price all that out before buying anything. Consider the possibility of messing something up and needing to buy more material, as well as the possibility that your sewing machine may not like sewing through several layers of Cordura (hint: try sewing some of the fabric swatches together). Then consider how good your bag will be, relative to commercial bags. If you are experienced at sewing (or you know someone who is, and who owes you a big favor) you might be able to pull it off, and save a few dollars, but remember that a gig bag is supposed to provide protection for a large, heavy, fragile, and expensive instrument.