Sew this is it!

Beautiful moped…check

Beautiful convertible bag…check

Beautiful tool roll…che…oh crap!

The tool bag I had didn’t fit in the pocket I spec’d.  Probably because it’s more of a tool wallet than a roll.  It’s supposed to be worn by the rider not strapped to the bike…poo.

No wait, Yay! A new challenge.  I wanted Tia (from VayaBags) to make this too but I wasn’t sure when I’d have the time to get myself and my tools out to her to design something.  I tried making a template from a grocery bag but that was a failure.  I decided to use some safety pins and an old fabric bag to mock things up.  I had a lot of marine vinyl left from recovering the TSM-DR’s seat so I figured I’d try sewing one myself.

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Leah has an old school Kenmore sewing machine from the 50s or 60s and it can pretty much sew through anything.  I set to work taking measurements from my mocked up tool roll, sewing and checking for fitment.  Let’s just say I was glad I had some junk vinyl to practice on…I’m not good at building with fabric.  I also think that old sewing machine needs a tune-up.  If you know of anyone that does that kind of work in the nyc area let me know.

Slowly but surely it started to look like what I wanted.

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I needed to find some webbing that would wrap things up and secure it to the moped.  I looked online but everything was expensive unless I bought a lot.  A quick trip to Michaels and PetSmart solved my problem.  A dog leash and some paracord bracelet clasps solved the problem.

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Then some fabric was removed from the cover flap and I reinforced the other stitching and made a handle.

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Not too shabby.  I’m going to wear this out and then I can just hand off the roll to Tia to get something indestructible made.

Next up…keeping things well oiled and faired?