I was organizing my closet the other day, and found the bag I got at Strand and used/abused throughout my art student years at SVA. (School of Visual Arts)
Strand is the biggest used book store in NYC, and also known for their super heavy duty canvas bags. It’s not a big bag but it is very strong. So I used to just stuff it with my sketch book, tools, food (muffin and banana to be precise), anything I could put it in. It’s a little dirty but otherwise it’s still in perfect condition, so I decided to revamp this bag.
First thing first, I had to wash the bag… But then the bag shrunk! It became a square rather than a rectangle. I didn’t take a photo before the shrinkage, but it shrunk at least a couple of inches lengthwise.
I got this one because the "A" in the Strand logo is the kanji (Chinese character) for "book." Also I thought it was cute, and it was red.
Now I had to make it into a smaller rectangle bag by sewing the sides in. Then I realized that it’s a perfect size for a ruler. Awesome. I sewed a line on the other side to make a pen pocket.
Not sure if you can see, but I sewed about an inch and half in on the inside the bag.
Now the proportions are more like before the shrinkage.
After a quick measuring and drawing, I came up with this template.
The other side of the bag. If you can tell what I'm making here, you're my friend.
Using the template, I made this with off-white canvas and black trimming.
Oh crap, I totally messed up this part! But that's okay, because it's mine.
And I added the facial features...
...sewed in onto the bag, and done!
I wish I could've used a different fabric other than felt for the facial features... but that's okay, because it's mine.
Red Knight figure from Castle Crashers. My favorite knight before the Pink Knight.
Now let's go some castle crashing... in style!
Can't remember which shop has the cheapest price on health potions? Write it down, I got pens right here!
Want to know how long your new weapon is? I got a ruler too!
This was a very fun & quick revamp. I revived my favorite old bag AND now I can let people know what my favorite game is. I’m probably going to cover the Strand logo and put a pocket or something because I’m worried that the print will rub off on me during a hot summer day.
I did notice some people staring at the bag but no “Go Castle Crashers!” or “Red Knight FTW!” yet. But I know they’re out there, being all jealous and stuff. I can’t wait to take this bag to PAX Prime in August!
If you’re a long time blog reader, you probably know Castle Crashers, but in case you don’t know, Castle Crashers is an awesome game available on XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade) and PSN (Play Station Network) created by a group of awesome people at the Behemoth. And guess what, playing Castle Crashers will make you awesome!
I made a set of this revamp on my flickr too!
I was born in Japan, lived in New York for a while and now living in San Diego, California. I love creating things with my hands in my free time whether it’s making character bento or stuffing stuff! And now I'm working for 
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hello! I’ve been following your blog for a while now! I love your bento designs. I didn’t know that you went to SVA too! So awesome to know that my favorite bento maker is a fellow alumni! Cool bag by the way- ^^
Pauline,
Maybe SVA needs edible art classes! 
Hey there fellow SVA graduate! I was a sculpture major and practically lived in the sculpture building back then. (when it was still on 17th st) I was insanely busy all the time but it’s all good memories now.
かわいぃぃぃぃ♪上手ぅぅぅぅ！！！
しかもペンと定規も入れれるし❤
優だったらきっとザックリ切り取ってるもん。
アンナちゃん、さすが♪♪♪
優ちゃん！
優ちゃんに比べたら全然・・・というか私まっすぐに縫うのがとても苦手なのよねぇ。だから優ちゃんのカーテンとかベットシーツとかちゃっちゃ～っと作ってるの見ると感動しちゃうのわ。定規ポケットは生地を切った後の始末が面倒だったので内側に縫い込めば・・・と思ったらバッチリ定規サイズ！面倒臭がりが幸いしただけw
That is so cute!! The Red Knight looks so cute and angry ^u^
In Japanese is 本 used to literally mean “book”? Like “I got a new 本” would mean “I got a new book”? Because in Chinese it is the counter for books (書) so 1 book would be 一本書 (I think the numbers are same in Japanese and Chinese, right?) I want to learn Japanese *u*
In other news, 18 miles of books sounds amazing *u*
Sparklwolfie,
To be more accurate, 本 is a kind of 書物 (means “written thing”) in Japanese, but either 本 or 書物 can mean “book.” 本 is more widely used though, so you can say “I got a new 本.” As for counting, Japanese has probably the most annoying ways to differentiate how to count certain thing, and the counting term for books is 冊 (pronounced “satsu). So “one book” would be “一冊.” My boyfriend learned Japanese for 2 years and he said that remembering the counting term was one of the hardest thing to remember… But don’t let it stop you from learning Japanese!
You can learn more about Japanese counting terms from Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_counter_word
By the way, Strand used to be “16 miles of book” before, so I guess they really do measure how many miles of book they have once in a while.
I love this! My son (3 years old) lives for this game. I came online to see if I could find ideas for Christmas and stumbled onto this. I’m going to have to bookmark your blog!