I've been taking a lot of pictures with my DSLR camera and in preparation for a trip to the Rockies in Alberta Canada I wanted a camera bag. Looking at nice camera bags created price shock though so I looked at inserts, handy padded frames that could be inserted into any bag. You can buy inserts at a reasonable price online but I decided to make my own, wanting a custom fit. Okay, and let's face it, I like making things myself.
I made the purse like a normal purse with pockets inside for cell phone and zippered pockets inside and out and then made the camera insert. I found instructions for the insert online and used a thick yoga mat instead of buying the expensive green foam that was turning yellow on the edges that was available at the fabric store. The yoga mat was easy to cut and work with. I tweaked the insert pattern/instructions a bit, adding an extra inch on all sides of bottom piece so I could sew it to side piece on machine instead of hand stitching it together as instructed. I also sewed the bottom to the side with the Velcro on the outside then flipped it after sewing it. This gave bottom a neat, finished look and held structure together more firmly. I made two foam dividers, one attached to hold camera snuggly and one for a spare. These dividers are movable wherever there is Velcro.
I used one lens and had room for a water bottle, wristlet, phone, bag of snack food and hiked for almost 6 hours with this bag over my shoulder and it was like it wasn't even there. In hindsight I wouldn't have gone with zebra stripe for hiking in the mountains but back down in the city I didn't look like a tourist toting around a giant camera bag.
And the camera insert can easily be pulled out and the purse used as a regular purse.
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