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Finally finished my canvas and leather portage pack!

Joined
Feb 21, 2022
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Location
Northern VT
A couple summers ago, I found a thread on here by LanceR about how he made a canvas portage pack. I thought that was pretty slick, and decided to make my own. I borrowed a Portage Pack Company #4 from a friend to copy the design, bought some materials and hardware, and got to work. I made a pattern, started cutting leather and sewing canvas, and then got busy with other stuff. The project got put on a shelf in the garage for 2 years, until last week, I finally got it down and finished it up!

It's pretty faithful to the Portage Pack Company #4, but I added side panels. The final dimensions are 24" high, 27" wide, and 6" deep. It's really big! I picked the dimensions so I could fit my 3 35L dry bags in it side by side, but I think I could have made it a bit smaller and still fit them quite nicely, even when they're fully packed. But I suppose it's never a bad thing to have some more space.

The pics of me wearing it show it with the dry bags inside, packed fairly full, but not stuffed. Overall, I'm quite happy with how it came out, although I made a few aesthetic mistakes that I'd rectify next time, and forgot to sew a second canvas reinforcement panel underneath the leather attachment point for the top of the shoulder straps. I don't think this will be an issue, and if it is, it's possible to drill out the rivets and correct it. I used 12oz canvas, as that was the thickest I could find. I think it will hold up fine, although I wish I'd found heavier-duty stuff.

I'm mostly posting this as encouragement to folks who want to try this. I've done a bit of sewing and leatherwork before, but I'm certainly not an expert. The principal challenge was finding a sewing machine that could handle multiple layers of the canvas. I ended up using my girlfriend's Singer CG-550 commercial machine, as my Singer 404 straight stitch machine couldn't handle it, despite reading many places online that the old, all-metal Singers were beefy enough for the challenge. I highly recommend the CG series—they're powerful, but are easier to use than industrial machines, and you can find them for a reasonable price on eBay.

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A couple summers ago, I found a thread on here by LanceR about how he made a canvas portage pack. I thought that was pretty slick, and decided to make my own. I borrowed a Portage Pack Company #4 from a friend to copy the design, bought some materials and hardware, and got to work. I made a pattern, started cutting leather and sewing canvas, and then got busy with other stuff. The project got put on a shelf in the garage for 2 years, until last week, I finally got it down and finished it up!

It's pretty faithful to the Portage Pack Company #4, but I added side panels. The final dimensions are 24" high, 27" wide, and 6" deep. It's really big! I picked the dimensions so I could fit my 3 35L dry bags in it side by side, but I think I could have made it a bit smaller and still fit them quite nicely, even when they're fully packed. But I suppose it's never a bad thing to have some more space.

The pics of me wearing it show it with the dry bags inside, packed fairly full, but not stuffed. Overall, I'm quite happy with how it came out, although I made a few aesthetic mistakes that I'd rectify next time, and forgot to sew a second canvas reinforcement panel underneath the leather attachment point for the top of the shoulder straps. I don't think this will be an issue, and if it is, it's possible to drill out the rivets and correct it. I used 12oz canvas, as that was the thickest I could find. I think it will hold up fine, although I wish I'd found heavier-duty stuff.

I'm mostly posting this as encouragement to folks who want to try this. I've done a bit of sewing and leatherwork before, but I'm certainly not an expert. The principal challenge was finding a sewing machine that could handle multiple layers of the canvas. I ended up using my girlfriend's Singer CG-550 commercial machine, as my Singer 404 straight stitch machine couldn't handle it, despite reading many places online that the old, all-metal Singers were beefy enough for the challenge. I highly recommend the CG series—they're powerful, but are easier to use than industrial machines, and you can find them for a reasonable price on eBay.

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Nice job!
 
Great job and very possibly motivating for other readers to DIY. Do you have a rough idea as to how much the materials cost you?
Thanks Glenn.

Unfortunately I don’t have an accurate cost—but roughly I would say:
Leather: $40
Canvas: $30
Brass hardware: $40
Misc thread, needles etc: $15
Total: $125

I bought larger quantities of everything than I needed for this one project, so I got volume discounts. And maybe I’m forgetting some shipping costs. But it’s a rough idea.
 
I'm new to the site but just had to take a look at your project having owned a company building canvas tents and products for almost forty years. I'm very impressed. Hopefully your great job will be a fire under my butt to start a couple of camping construction projects of my own. I'm impressed.
 
I'm new to the site but just had to take a look at your project having owned a company building canvas tents and products for almost forty years. I'm very impressed. Hopefully your great job will be a fire under my butt to start a couple of camping construction projects of my own. I'm impressed.
Thanks! I imagine with all your experience, you could easily make something similar. I did a French seam for the side panels, and a flat-felled seam to add the extra length to the main piece, since I was using the width of the bolt in order to minimize waste. Other than that, it was just basic bridle stitching the leather together, and setting the rivets. I consider myself an advanced beginner with these skills and it was very achievable.
 
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