As you might remember from the previous Bike Makeover 
post, it’s been a while I’d been drooling over these magnificent roll up panniers by Brooks; I was so charmed I couldn’t find another bag suitable for my bike. Normal bicycle bags seemed just too plain now, and most of the panniers I found couldn’t roll up at all. I kept searching and all the bags I saw were too bulky, too boring or too expensive, so my bicycle kept going with no bags at all. I showed the roll up panniers (that are much to expensive for my wallet) to my dad, and he exclaimed: ‘Alright, we’ll make one!’
My dad is the best craftsman I know; since I was a kid, I remember him always sketching and making things, from papier-mâché to weird tiny electronic devices. Among his many crafty talents is sewing, so when I got home for the Christmas Holidays he had already gathered various materials so that we could start right away!
We chose dark blue canvas for the main body of the panniers, a patterned fabric for the details and leather for the straps.
Then, we started sketching and measuring the fabric we would need.
We drew separately each part we needed, using a 6-7 cm seam allowance.
Following our measurements, we made some funny-looking roll up panniers out of newspapers, to see how they would look. There were more bulky than I wanted, so we changed several dimensions and we were finally ready to start cutting!
We cut the pieces one by one and glued the seam allowance for the curved areas using fabric adhesive.
We kept sewing and bolting all night long…
…until we came to this!
When all the parts were ready, we added several tiny pockets I wanted for my pencils and other stuff, as well as the leather straps and clips. As soon as I got back to my place and put the panniers on my bike, I attached them on the rack with red ribbon and I was ready to go!
I absolutely love my panniers; it was really fun making them and now I can carry my books and grocery when commuting in the loveliest roll-up panniers I’ve ever seen. The best part is being able to roll up one pannier (or both) when you don’t need it, so that the panniers take less space; one can even sit on the rack for doubling. Yay to my dad! 
Update
You can find a kind of pattern for the panniers with dimensions and some rudimentary instructions here.
holy moly, they turned out beautiful! and you are so pro, making a newspaper pattern and everything. it sounds like it really helped.
i am trying not to be jealous. : )
Haha, I’m glad you like it!
Don’t be jealous, with your crafting skills you can make them in no time! I must admit my dad’s the pro, I couldn’t have done it without him.
Beautiful! Polished, and obviously handmade at the same time. I love these.
Thanks so much!
That’s exactly what I wanted
PS: I checked your page, it’s really pretty! I’ll come back soon.
Perfect idea! If you think to make a small production, I would l like to buy one for my bike.
Really?
We were thinking about doing some panniers for other bikes in the family, so we can easily make one more! The thing is, I won’t be back to my hometown until Easter; if you don’t mind waiting, I’ll be happy to make a pair of panniers for you and customize them as you wish!
That’s so awesome! I’ve been drooling over them for a week now! Any chance I could get a pattern from you? Im crafty with fabric but am concidering taking on leather bags….
Thanks so much, Zach!
I don’t have any pattern but I could send you the photos of the sketches we made and explain them the best I can!
Leather is pretty tough to work with, I think; I’d suggest you try fabric first, although it’s not a particularly difficult craft.
hi, i am hopeless with anything crafty, so i will not be able to make these if i tried. However, i looked up at previous comments, and noticed that you might be interested in selling custom ones. I would love to buy some. Just wondering about the pricing, and where abouts they were comming from.
Hi Henri!
We’d love to make custom ones, it was really fun making them and I think it will be even more fun choosing patterns and styles with someone else!
I have no idea about the pricing though, I’ll ask my dad and mail you as soon as possible! We’ll probably be making more during Easter holidays (in about two weeks or so).
The panniers will be shipped from Greece.
hello they look great. does your dad recommend any good books for learning how to sew and make things?
thanks
Thank you, Jack! I’ll ask him! As far as I know he’s mostly learning from trial and error as well as online tutorials. I’ll tell you as soon as I learn something specific!
Wow thanks, that would be great. My email address is [insert mail adress here
], so send the details to that?
Your great!
You too! I will mail you asap!
I’m removing your e-mail adress from your comment for spamming reasons
Dear Kynthia..
First of all congratulations for the panniers. I am from Greece , from the city of Drama. PLEASE i want to buy two of them from you or from your father!! PLEASE give me more instructions how to buy them!!
Thank you very much.
Dimitrios from Greece!!!!!
Hahaha!
Thanks so much!!
Your comment just made my day, Dimitri
I will mail you asap with details!
Oooh so damn good! Oh please could I a have a copy of the patternsketchydetails? These are the best looking home crafted panniers I’ve seen. Would love to give them a go.
Oh thank you so much for your kind words!
Of course! I’ll try to make some kind of detailed pattern (or something similar) and I’ll send it to you. All I have right now is a copy of the photo of the sketch we used, just in higher resolution than the one posted. Please remind me again to do it, because I tend to forget! Also, tell me if you want the higher resolution picture 
Wow really nice! I am looking to make some of my own – researching and making some patterns. If you do get a detailed pattern worked out, i would love to see it!. I am more curious what type of hardware you are using on the back of the bags to keep it fixed to the back rack. Clips or bungees?
How are these working out so far?
Thanks!
Hi there, Lauren!
I’m working on a Sketchup project on the panniers so that I can post a more detailed pattern! It’s kinda funny you’re asking about clips and bungees, because I actually keep the panniers fixed to the back rack just by a red ribbon.
They panniers are perfect so far, beautiful and sturdy; I’ve already carried groceries and books and stuff several times when commuting!
Good luck on your project, if you need any help tell me!
Hi Kynthia,
These look awesome! I absolutely love the roll-up part – super classy! I would very much like to build a set like these myself. Could you email me that high res picture of the sketch?
Thanks so much!
Thanks so much! I love the fact that they roll up as well! I’ll email you the picture I have asap; I’m working on a more detailed pattern though, I hope I’ll be able to post it soon!
Wow, these are awesome! I would love to try to make this! Could you maybe send a detailed picture of the sketch to me too?
I’m sending you the photo right now; it’s not much really, but you can get the idea. :S
I hope I find time to make a pattern or something to help you guys more.
Dag nabbit good stuff you whippernsppaers!
Hahah, I actually needed to google to understand what you said, so thank you for teaching us two new words (:P) and of course for liking our panniers!
I LOVE your handmade panniers! I actually love them even more than the Brooks ones especially since you made them with your Dad! I would love to buy a set from you. Do you have a price for them?
Thanks so much! *blushes* I must admit I love them more than the Brooks ones too…!
I’ll mail you with details on the price etc.
Could you possibly post the dimensions on this site?
Wow, this is impressive! Do you have any pattern made up yet?
Ps: It makes me wonder why on earth they do not make more roll up panniers!
Thank you so much!
We don’t have a pattern yet, I’m sorry! Now that I have more time (summer holidays, yay!) I’ll do it, I promise!
Ps: I was wondering the exact same thing!
hi- if you are making some more for sale, i’d be interested too. let me know the details! nice work on these panniers!
I’m glad you like them! I’ll mail you soon
Absolutely beautiful! Im very much a DIYer myself and love anything hand made. I it was possible could I please get a set of plans as well! I noticed you have a large amount of request for them : ) thanks again! And keep crafty!
Same here about the handmade things
I’ll mail you all I’ve got; I still haven’t found time to make the pattern! :3
Thank you for your kind words!
My wife and I bought two 20″ folding bikes to travel with. The panniers would come in hand for grocery trips. My wife is an accomplished seamstress but the patterns would make it easy for her. Please help anyway you can.
Great Job!
rick
Hi there!
I’m mailing you the photos of the sketches we made; I promise I’ll tell you when I upload the patterns!
Cheers!
Kynthia
Dang ya”ll got the knack. Those are sacks even us cowgirls can love. You need to get a store going, girl!
Hi there Anoura
) words!
Thanks for your kind (slightly idiomatic
[...] More panniers from scratch. [...]