Turning an Echelon Bag Into Bicycle Panniers

Hello, and welcome.

If you have come here I will assume you are interested in the above proposition. Hence I will regale you with it's ideology.

I had been thinking over the course of the day how to make bicycle panniers, many ideas came to me, perhaps I could use two backpacks, but alas, I only have one backpack, perhaps I could use two haversacks, but I have no haversacks, so there goes that idea. I could buy some real panniers, but I don't have that kind of money.
Then, as I was just falling asleep that night, in the twilight stages of sleep, an idea came to me, what if I cut an echelon bag in twain and sewed it's ends up, to form two bags, that could be attached to a bicycle rack, I also noted that an instructable could be made of the aforementioned idea. Brilliant! I reached for the torch, grabbed my book from beside my bed and scrawled this idea into its pages, cursing that these brilliant ideas only come to one in these very moments. However, having transcribed it to paper, I shut and returned the book and pen, switched off the torch and returned to the brink of slumber.
Within moments, I was asleep.

The next day I awoke and remembered my idea to transmute an echelon bag into bicycle panniers. Looking at my echelon bag I pondered over ways to cleave it in two, until I realized that simply cutting it vertically was indeed the best idea.

So, in the following pages, I will explain, and provide photographic assistance of the steps required to render an echelon bag into bicycle panniers.


Onward!

First, you must have to following items :

- an echelon bag
- a sewing needle
- sewing thread
- scissors

optionally, you may also want :

- pins (safety or otherwise)
- carabiners
- a bicycle with some sort of rear rack
- anything else you could desire

Secondly, having acquired the relevant materials, you need to cut the echelon bag vertically, through the middle,, and cut off the handles and outer pocket, as shown

Thirdly, whence you have cut you echelon bag in two, DO NOT PULL THE ZIPPERS OFF THEIR RUNNERS!!!

Also, you will find that the bottom of the bag is double, we will only be using the inner layer, which is part of the walls of the bag, rather than the outer bottom, which is sewn to the inner bottom.

So, now you must find the halfway point between the two edges of the bottom, using the outer bottom stitches as a guide to the edges of the bottom, fold it at the middle, and sew the edges together, as shown.

Now sew the inner sides in, to meet the seams you just sewed in the last step, as shown.

Now sew the two seams you have left together, as shown

Now sew the open side, all the way up, to the seams of the top panel, but not over. You can pin it if you like.

Now fold the top sides in half and sew them down, as shown.

That's it, done.

Now do it again starting from somewhere between step 2 and 3.

Now you have two. Now you are done.

Enjoy.