DIY Camera Bag (Purse)

Ok, I have been seeing these posts all over the place and I've been wanting to make one myself for a while. I should back up and explain... I now have 5 cameras I use for different occasions: a point and shoot Nikon Coolpix, a Nikon D80 DSLR, a Kodak EasyShare DX7590, an Olympus OM-G film camera and I just bought a Holga 135BC camera. I bought a purse from Best Buy that is made to hold cameras - slightly padded and a couple dividers. This held my Nikon D80, an extra lens, my wallet, iPod, and Coolpix just fine when I went on a field trip for a class in college. It doesn't hold much else though, and it's kind of stiff. I wanted a cuter purse, and one that could hold more than just my D80 (I like to shoot film and digital back and forth now). I got a sewing machine for Christmas this year and I knew I had to at least give it a try.

I found a few blogs of other women who'd made their bags to get some tips, but no one really had a pattern (and that's ok, it's all about how you want it and the size of the bag differs). This weekend I had a lot of extra time (weekend off, boyfriend out of town) so I went to look for a purse first. I ended up at JCPenny and found the perfect purse - not just for my cameras, but overall... it has so many pockets! AND it was only $14. I figured even if it didn't work for my cameras, I had to buy it.

Then I went to Hobby Lobby to buy what others had suggested:

-1 yard of fabric (soft, so it doesn't harm the camera)
-some quilting batting (I didn't want to buy the 1 inch foam like others. I find it TOO thick)
-some velcro

The purse and other supplies cost me all of about $26!

First thing I did was measure the bottom and sides of the purse. Then cut the fabric and foam for it. (sorry I didn't take pictures of the whole process. I wasn't really planning on writing about it at the time)

The next thing I SHOULD'VE done but didn't and it made my job much harder was sew on the velcro to the sides. I just didn't think of it at the time and no other blog seemed to mention sewing the velcro on before putting the stuffing/foam in. Whoops! Oh well, it's fine for now. (The batting isn't very stiff so I may end up making new sides for it if I find some 1/2 inch foam sometime... then I'll sew on the velcro before. There's plenty of fabric left over.)

I actually made the bottom and sides all one piece by sewing three edges in a pillowcase fashion, then sewing two lines to separate the bottom from the sides (as a way to fold them). Then stuffed the batting in and stitched up the ends - I just ran a stitch along the end, nothing pretty because who's going to see it anyway?

For the inserts, I measured approximately the width between the sides and from the stuffed bottom up to the top. I cut that size out of the batting and added an extra 2 inches (or whatever the width of the velcro on either side.) I sewed the bottom, right sides together, then flipped it around so the wrong sides were together, sewed up the sides to fit around the batting snugly, then sewed on the velcro to the extra width on the sides.

Really, that's it. I keep rearranging the inserts in my bag to see where I like them the best. Right now I can fit my Nikon D80 (with lens attached), an extra lens, my Holga, and still have space for my Olympus or external flash. I put my wallet in one of the side pockets, my Nikon Coolpix in a tiny front pocket, and my iPod in the other. Then my phone fits in another pocket! Whew! Any questions, please ask... I'll try to help as much as possible.

Nikon D80 (lens attached), extra lens, Holga,
and Olympus OM-G

My wallet fits in one of the side pockets