Make your Own Camera Bag

I’ve been drooling over one of those camera purses forever. I just can’t bring myself to spend $200 or more on a purse when I’m so fickle. At $200 a pop I simply cannot afford to purchase multiple purses to change with my every whim.

When I saw a photo on Pinterest of an adorable camera purse that promised instructions to make your own camera bag, I had to click through and visit the website to learn more.

I knew immediately that I’d found the perfect solution to my dilemma. I would make a camera purse to rival those I’d seen online.

I set out to find the perfect purse. I wanted a backpack style purse which would allow me to tote my camera,  lenses and accessories while keeping my arms and hands free to take photos. As it turned out, finding a backpack purse was harder than I imagined.

I searched my local T.J. Maxx, Burlington Coat Factory, Kohl’s and the thrift store before I finally found something similar to what I was looking for at Walmart.

The bag I chose was black- so it will pretty much go with everything. It’s also wide enough to hold my DSLR camera, an extra lens, and my Samsung smart camera with battery chargers for both, my cell phone and my wallet. A pocket inside is perfect for my extra SD cards and cleaning cloths while a larger pocket on the outside stores my business cards, a small notebook and a couple pens, the perfect bag for a traveling blogger.

The only thing it didn’t have room for was my Asus Tablet that I also carry with me when I travel, but for less than $20, the purse will work until I find exactly what I have in mind.

To construct the interior of my purse, I pretty much followed the step-by-step directions I found for a DIY Camera Purse, with a few exceptions. I don’t sew. While other girls were taking Home Ec in school, I was in art class so sewing is not a skill I’ve ever had the patience to pick up on my own. Rather than learning now or hand sewing each piece, I opted to use fabric glue which worked perfectly. I was going to use a fusible web, but the iron has disappeared since I last used it.

I also created a padded bottom for the inside of my purse. I just traced the shape of the bottom of my purse on paper to make a pattern and cut the fabric just slightly smaller than the pattern to make sure it fit. I also cut two layers of batting to place in between the layers.

I originally purchased a cute fabric pattern when I bought the materials for the project, but decided to use a soft flannel material which was actually a pillow case that I found in our linen closet. I also would have preferred foam instead of the quilt batting, but it wasn’t available at my local Walmart and I didn’t want to run across town. The inserts I used came from my “real” camera case, which I cannibalized for my project. I simply attached the divider sides of my camera bag insert with Industrial Strength Velcro.

I love, love, love the end result.

So tell me, isn’t this a lot cuter than toting around a camera bag?