I’ve done a little bit of sewing in the past but I’ve kept it mostly analog. I wanted to experiment with the digital route so I started with a relatively simple project: a bottle holder/pouch for my bike. This is how it went.
I actually wanted to make two bottle pouches of different sizes so I made a Cuttle project that lets me make a sort low poly cylinder with some added tabs for the seams
I started with a test piece. Cotton canvas cuts really nicely with the laser:
I marked lines for the seams so I could follow them with the machine.
I had a seam allowance parameter in the Cuttle project that I set to the distance between the edge of the foot and the needle.
The bottom is probably the hardest part to sew. Pinning helps though.
Bottom after sewing:
I turned the bag inside out and tested the fit on the bottle. It was a little tight so I added 1/4” to my cylinder Diameter and decided to go for the final one. The measured diameter of the bottle was 2.85"
The final dimensions for this 20 oz Klean Kanteen where:
cylinderDiameter
= 3.5"cylinderHeight
= 8"
I cut the new piece (again cotton canvas) and I treated it with some Otter brand fabric wax. You rub it on the fabric to make it more durable/waterproof. I did it after cutting because wax is flammable and I don’t know what it does under the laser.
I used Cuttle again to plan the location of the straps using a Molle/PALS pattern.
The fabric marker didn’t work on the waxed canvas (wax on wax I guess) but I found out the bone folder would leave visible marks, which I used to lay down the straps.
Added the straps and plastic loops as planned.
Sewed the side of the cylinder.
Tried to make my life easier by ironing the seams on the bottom before pinning.
Pinned and sewed the bottom.
The fit was a success!
And here it is on my weird folding bike that has no place to screw on a bottle cage.
And I made a second one for a 40oz Klean Kanteen (also 8 inches tall, cylinderDiameter
was 4.3" on this one).
The bike is a Tern Verge s27h if you are curious. It’s not being made anymore, but it was designed as a touring bike and it’s possible to put it in a suitcase, some disassembly required. I went on a short bikepacking trip in Mexico not long ago and I’ll confess I didn’t pack enough water for a leg of the trip which was one incentive to make more places to carry water. The bike did well though, even on rough terrain.
Anyway, hope this project is interesting or even inspiring. And perhaps the template I made might even be useful to someone else.