

MESSENGER BAG // Full Weekend Workshop *NEW*
♻️ Full weekend workshop packed with creative sewing, repair and bag making skills! Learn to sew, customise patches before designing and making your own Into Carry Bag.
👜 Choose from several 'Messenger style' bags. Then make it your own by customising the materials, style, pockets, strap, function and vibe.
🌎 After these 2 five hour sessions, you'll walk away with a new bag full, some new buddies and a pocket full of creative sewing and bag making skills.
Date
Choose options
♻️ Full weekend workshop packed with creative sewing, repair and bag making skills! Learn to sew, customise patches before designing and making your own Into Carry Bag.
👜 Choose from several 'Messenger style' bags. Then make it your own by customising the materials, style, pockets, strap, function and vibe.
🌎 After these 2 five hour sessions, you'll walk away with a new bag full, some new buddies and a pocket full of creative sewing and bag making skills.
Date
♻️ Full weekend workshop packed with creative sewing, repair and bag making skills! Learn to sew, customise patches before designing and making your own Into Carry Bag.
👜 Choose from several 'Messenger style' bags. Then make it your own by customising the materials, style, pockets, strap, function and vibe.
🌎 After these 2 five hour sessions, you'll walk away with a new bag full, some new buddies and a pocket full of creative sewing and bag making skills.
Date
About the course...
✂️ Workshop Overview
Learn to sew, create custom patches, repair textiles and make your own epic Messenger Bag!
This double day weekend workshop is perfect for all skill levels. We start with a focus on foundational sewing and material repair skills (seams, appliqué, reverse appliqué) so we can repair and customise our clothes at home.
Once we're confident with our new skills, creative freedom and bag making techniques are our next focus. Each of us deploy our new repair techniques to bring life back to discarded materials and transform them into our own Messenger Bag!
Select one of Into Carry's bag patterns (multiple sizes to choose from) and get creative reimagining discarded material into your new favourite bag. Each pattern caters to a wide range of materials with lots of room for your own customisation.
You'll be guided stitch-by-stitch through every decision and bag assembly step so you can walk away with your custom Messenger Bag full of new skills and upcycling ideas.
💚 6 Reasons to Join
The create a welcoming and inspiring learning environment, each workshop is designed for all sewing skill levels. From complete newbies to experienced sewers, we will tailor your sessions to your sewing interest and skill level.
- Learn to sew & repair materials (to continue repairing at home)
- Explore alternative materials & applications
- Customise and make your own Messenger Bag
- Meet other like-minded upcycling people
- Learn a new analogue hobby
- Accountability to finish projects & have some time for you :)
Got more questions? Check out the FAQ's below...
💼 Learning Outcomes
From concept to edge finishes, each week we tick off a new component of the bag making process. Key learnings include:
- Fundamental sewing skills. Get familiar with sewing fundamentals while we complete a series of samples to get us ready for bag making.
- Foundational repair skill. Learn several techniques to create and apply repair patches.
- Bag design. Material choices are key to a good bag design. Pair the right materials for your desired structure & aesthetic.
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Bag assembly. You will be guided through this step-by-step process to create Messenger Bags on home machines (pattern available to take home and repeat).
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Bag finishings. Edge and hardware finishings are what separate a 'good' bag from a high quality piece. Learn material edge finishes and options for functional hardware and finishings.
♻️ Upskill Learning Format
The beauty of this process is its adaptable and collaborative format. We rarely use the same material twice, so every process has marginal changes. Our step-by-step bag making process follows a core method with lots of options for customisation along the way. This way we can all use weird and wonderful materials in bringing unique bag designs to life.
💚 Who this Course is for...
If you want to repair your own clothes and learn how to make bags, this course is for you. The process is designed to meet you at your skill level, with beginners and experts sitting side by side. No matter your skill level, we'll guide you through the process to ensure you max out your learnings and make an epicly good-looking, practical Messenger Bag.
🗓️ Class Dates
Make a weekend of it! This course is x2 five hour sessions back to back on Saturday and Sunday. Many of you lovely sewing legends have requested weekend workshops (beyond our Intro sessions) due to travel and evening availability. If you are travelling, there are lots of great little Airbnb's and accom nearbye. Otherwise we're 100m from Anstey Station.
15th-16th August - 8 Duckett St Brunswick
Saturday 10.30am - 3.30pm
Sunday 10.30am - 3.30pm
Questions
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Saskia via email community@intocarry.co or Insta @intocarry.co to arrange the specifics :)
All leftover textiles and offcuts are externally recycled with UPPAREL.
Build a bag from scratch over five two hour sessions. No prior sewing or bag making skills required! There is an expert facilitator for every 6 people, so we can each get lots of one-on-one time with our ideas and projects :)
- Five 2 hour classes
- Suitable for all skill levels
- No prior sewing skills required
- We have an abundance of waste here but BYO waste material is welcomed
- Each student will have their own sewing machine to practice on (you're welcome to BYO machine)
- Classes held at 8 Duckett St Brunswick (we moved from Collingwood)
♻️ Waste Materials
We have a LOT of overlooked materials here at the studio. If you have a particular material you would like to upcycle, please bring it in! We love exploring new materials.
Note: if you would like to use soft plastic in your design, you can create your own at home with our online tutorial and bring it into class (you won't need this material until week 2).
Note: If you can't make a session we can find another session or time to make up for it. In the event of public holidays, we may run an additional session to make up for it.
Feel free to email community@intocarry.co to ask specific questions about any date clashes you might have.
TUESDAY EVENING - 8 Duckett St Brunswick
Tues 7th July / 6.30-8.30pm
Tues 14th July / 6.30-8.30pm
Tues 21st July / 6.30-8.30pm
Tues 28th July / 6.30-8.30pm
Tues 4th August / 6.30-8.30pm
SUNDAY MORNING - 8 Duckett St Brunswick
Sun 12th July / 10.30am-12.30pm
Sun 19th July / 10.30am-12.30pm
Sun 26th July / 10.30am-12.30pm
Sun 2nd August / 10.30am-12.30pm
Sun 9th August / 10.30am-12.30pm
Included in the $390 ticket is five weeks of classes, valued at $140 per class, hardware for strap connections bag closures, materials and more.
A total value of $850 for $390.
Bonus point if you've read this far, use code 'HEARTUPCYCLING' for 10% off
Due to the group sizes of our workshops and the need to organise staffing levels and materials accordingly, the following cancellation terms apply:
Cancellations
- More than 21 days before the workshop: Full refund
- Within 21 days of the workshop: No refunds.
Booking Transfers
- You can transfer your booking to another person (at no charge) by notifying us before the workshop begins.
- Other requests to change workshop dates are subject to availability and our discretion.
Illness
- Please do not attend if you are unwell or have any symptoms of something that could be contagious.
- If you notify us before the workshop starts that you cannot attend due to illness, we can transfer you to another workshop date, within 12 months.
- Refunds are not available within 21 days due to illness.
Non-Attendance
We cannot accommodate refunds, credits, or transfers for non-attendance without prior notice.
Exceptional Circumstances
Any requests outside the above will be considered at our discretion.
To see if the classes are right for you, try our one-off 2 hour Intro to Sewing Class :)
Messenger Bag FAQ
The Messenger Bag course is designed for all skill levels. We begin with a series of practical sewing exercises to get everyone comfortable with the techniques to repair and sew. Most classes have a mix of new and experienced sewers. Your Into Carry facilitators will help you tailor your bag design to meet you at your skill level.
Working with wasted materials is creative in itself. We don't need elaborate ideas to make high quality bags. We just need a sewing machine and a few hours of time :)
First, congratulations on starting all those projects. Second, Luke and the Into Carry team are your upcycling coaches, together, we'll make sure we finish your bag! No matter what it takes! Strength in numbers etc.
I recently learnt what a UFO is so it's only fair to share... it stands for UnFinished Object and is a 100% normal symptom of getting really excited about the potential of overlooked materials. But fear not, we will each finish the course with FO's.
Great question. The answer is: Only if you want it to.
We can intentionally make trashy bags but we can just as easily make crisp, sharp, super sexy-looking masterpieces. Without any prior skills of fancy knick nacks.
Key learnings and benefits are:
- Learn how to use a household sewing machine.
- Learn to create and apply patches to textiles and clothing (look out busted denim jeans!).
- Work with alternative materials so you can buy less fabric and use more sexy stuff in your sewing projects.
- Build your own bag to understand a bags process of assembly. Pattern available to take home and repeat :)
- Explore different material edge finishes so you can make wasted materials look clean and crisp.
- Design and sew your own bag so your friends can tell you how awesome you are :)
- Be guided by two expert upcycling facilitators so you can ask questions specific to your skill level and bag making creative interests.
- Learn beside other upcycling champions so you can connect with like minded change-makers.
It can be nice to upcycle something with sentimental value, so if you have an old garment that you want to rebirth into carry then absolutely, bring it along!
Alternatively, we have soooo much material here for you to get creative with. There is a whole range of weird, wacky, wonderful waste, ready for you to start exploring and upcycling.
Each course is run from our space in Brunswick, Melbourne/Naarm. Sydney Road and Anstey Station are a couple hundred meters away.
Address is: 8 Duckett St Brunswick VIC
Time: 10.30am-3.30pm Saturday & Sunday
Too easy, shoot Luke an email at luke@intocarry.co and we will get back to you asap.





