My friend Chris asked me to make him a Chevroleg bag months ago. I’ve been dragging my feet because it required going to Ikea, which is the equivalent of REI or Costco for me — $100 at a minimum seems to disappear on purchases that really don’t make sense. (2 gallons of shampoo? Really?) Without letting myself get distracted by the pretty fabric or section of plants, I  tucked shopping resolve in my pocket and came out with one of these $.99 blue bags. The plastic is heavy enough that it won’t fray and you can sew it with a regular sewing needle. Yet it is light enough that it makes a perfect cycling bag.

On this version, I added a small interior pocket for keys and change, per request.

I used velcro to attach the pocket so he could pull this out when going into a bakery after a long ride. I’ve ridden with Chris before. He’s a great athlete who loves his croissants too.

And so, you see the humor in lining the bag with a recycled flour sack.

Also, in contrast to the tutorial, I “splurged” and spent $5 on a clasp and webbing for the handle. We’ll later modify the length to his build and add an additional back strap to balance the weight of the bag.

I left the front Ikea webbing because it’s perfect for a carabiner key ring.

If you are looking for a couple sources of fabulous creativity, I ran across two lately that I think are bad ass:

1. Larissa’s appliqued messenger bag (thanks Ellen for sending this my way!)

and

2. This spectacular use of recycling and sewing for the home. How great is this swing? I am going to do this one day for my future backyard.

The beauty of the blog — sharing and inspiring!

~K