Anyone made there own soft panniers?
I once made some wee nylon bags for packing stuff in on my mum's sewing machine but they were very basic and quite frankly, in the checks and balances of DIY-ing, rather on the minus side!
Having had one, not terribly succesful, attempt to make something easy on a sewing machine, I now feel its time to make something that will, by necessity, have to be extremely tough, well made, much more complicated and waterproof.
I have just bought a 1967 BSA Bantam and will, assuming I can get the clutch to engage properly, require a set of panniers for it. With the power of this bike being around 13 horses, I need small and light - so soft is the obvious option.
I like the Andy Strapz panniers but, for something with no more work in them than a nice pair of jeans, £220 seems a little bit steep. And would represent a significant proportion of the value of the bike.
I'm thinking of buying some heavy waterproof polyester (can be sewn on a domestic machine) from an internet store that sells 'outdoor' fabrics and running up a couple of tailor made, slightly asymmetrical, but strong and waterproof panniers with roll tops and 'throw over' style straps.
I'd be interested in any info from people who have either done this or made something similar.
I've also heard that its possible to strongly bond some types of rubberised or plastic materials (like used in dry bags) but have no more information on this. As gluing sounds easier than sewing, this is a tempting option.
Cheers,
Matt