After a convention is over, these bags become sort of useless to me, and I usually get rid of them. But, I hated the idea of throwing away something with such cool graphics on it.
Since I have no need for an over sized backpack... I decided to turn it into a purse! Now THAT I can use!
I used a purse I already had as a sort of template for the size and shape I wanted, made it a few inches deeper, added a flap, then turned that into a pattern in Illustrator.
I made a small "mini-mock" of the pattern I made, just to make sure my measurements were all correct, before I started cutting into the bag. The whole bag had to be taken apart carefully so I could reuse all the material. Then, I just lined up the parts of the graphics I wanted on the pieces, cut them out, and started sewing!!
All in all I think it turned out pretty good! It's certainly not perfect, and I'm no master seamstress, but it'll be something fun to use for the next special event or convention I go to! Things like this are also great conversation starters, I find.
The only thing missing is some sort of clasp to keep the flap closed. I'll probably end up adding velcro.
If I ever get another convention bag I really like, maybe I'll do this again! It wasn't too difficult. I've seen people make dresses out of these bags, so hey, maybe that's next on the list!