Fun weekend projects taking scrap fabric for a patchwork style chalk bag and bucket. First time making a bucket but very happy with how it turned out.

Mostly scrap Xpac, some sailcloth, and some synthetic orange fabric I got at an art reuse store, left over fleece from making a friend golf club head covers.

Love projects that can be started and finished in a weekend

Hey everyone,

I'm currently working on making my own hiking backpacks and am looking into different foam options for the shoulder straps and hip belts.

EVA foam seems to be a popular choice, but it's relatively expensive, especially when you're making backpacks on a small scale. I'm wondering if there are any more affordable alternatives that still provide good comfort, support, and durability under load.

What types of foam do you use for your shoulder straps and hip belts? Do you use EVA, PE foam, PU upholstery foam, or something else?

Any advice or experience from fellow backpack makers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I used to use this in Europe and I cannot find it anywhere here in the US - it's an iron-on seam tape for neoprene (Melco is the commonly known brand) but it has small hard 'bobbles' on the outside like old-school wetsuit kneepads. Has anyone used this, or seen it on a website they can share?

I’m planning on using the Yard Jacket pattern from Roughcut to make a “blanket lined” Detroit jacket type jacket and aside from cutting up a perfectly good wool blanket what would you suggest? My uneducated idea is to buy wool coating fabric but I don’t know if that’ll hold up to brutal work wear conditions or not or even if it’d be overkill.