Let’s make a

Backpack

Materials:1 1/4 yard fabric for outside (heavier fabrics like twill work best) I used 1/2 yard of the printed and 1/2 yard of the bright pink

1 yard fabric for liner3 yards piping-you can find it with the notions or use this tutorial to make your own1 yard heavy duty iron-on interfacing1 14” zipper 2 1” Strap adjusters, like this

2 1” Rectangular rings, like that

Small piece of batting, enough for 4 4”x6” pieces (Optional)ThreadHeat N Bond, heavy weight, just enough for the pocket

KEEP GOING, THERE’S MORE.....

Heavy duty needle (these usually say “jeans” on the package) and regular needlesZipper foot for your machinePattern Pieces

Please email me if you have any questions!emsays@rocketmail.com

Print out your pattern pieces. Make sure your printer is set for “no automatic page scaling” (or something similar). When you print measure the mark on the left side of the page to make sure it is 1”.

Cut your fabrics. Let’s do the outside first.You’ll need :two pocket pieces (one for the inside of the pocket and one for the outside)

two Full pieces-one for the front and one for the back (on my

backpack I used pink for the front and the print for the back. Half of the front will be covered by pocket.)

four shoulder pad pieces

You’ll also need to measure out:one piece 111/2” x 5 1/4” for the bottom of the backpack.two pieces 8” x 5 1/4” for the sidestwo pieces 2 1/2” x 14 1/2” for the sides of the zipper (I call it the

“zipper fabric frame” so we don’t get confused between these and the sides of the backpack.)

one piece 28” x 2 1/2” for the straps (I make both my straps at one time

then I cut them in half-if you don’t have enough continuous fabric you could use two pieces of 14”x 2 1/2”)

one piece 6” x 2” for loop at the top of the bag

For the inside liner you’ll need:two Full piecesone piece 22” x 5 1/4” for the bottom and the sidestwo pieces 3 1/2” x 16 1/2” for the liner of the zipper.

Then cut your heavy duty interfacing.You’ll need:two Full piecesone piece 22” x 5 1/4” for the bottom and the sides

And from your Heat N Bond you’ll needone pocket piece

Then iron on the interfacing to the front and back pieces of the backpack.

Iron on the Heat N Bond to the wrong side of one of your pocket pieces. (it doesn’t matter which one, just make sure it’s the wrong side.) This is with the paper on; I leave it on ‘til I’m ready to sew it (why? I don’t really know...)

Are you Ready to Sew?ALL SEAM ALLOWANCES ARE 1/2” unless otherwise stated.We’ll start by sewing the outer pocket.Take the paper off your Heat N Bond that is on your pocket piece.Take the outside of your pocket and the liner and lay them down, right sides together.

We’ll put piping along the shortest edge (it will be the top of the pocket). Put the piping in between the two layers of fabric -the rough edges should all be together. Pin the three layers together. Cut the piping so there is a little overhang out each end-about 1”.

Then we’ll baste the piping into place. When you’re doing piping it’s easiest to use your zipper foot on your machine.{Note-your three edges should line up-the front of the pocket, the back of the pocket and the lining. I used leftover binding for my piping which was too wide-I had to have some hanging off the edge. See Pic Below}

To baste, set your stitch length on your sewing machine as long as it will go (this way if you make a mistake it’s a lot easier to pull the stitches apart). Sew about 1/4 inch from the edge-close to the piping but don’t worry about getting too

close to it yet. You’re just tacking everything in place.

Then set your machine back to it’s regular stitch length. Sew over the line you just made but this time “crowd” the piping, meaning sew as close to the lump in the piping as possible without sewing over it.

I find it easier to press down on the fabric so I can see where the edge of the piping is while I’m sewing.

Then open it up and lay it wrong sides together. Iron it flat making sure to activate the heat n bond.

Topstitch the top edge-neatly sew right under the piping to give it extra stability.

(I know, lovely picture)

Next we’ll do the zipper.Lay out your zipper and the zipper fabric frame

Put the zipper face down on one edge of fabric frame.Pin and sew using your zipper foot along this edge:

Open it up and do the opposite side the same way.Then lay the whole piece flat.

Iron it and then pin it flat. Topstitch on either side of the zipper.

Are you here?

Hooray!

Let’s put together the front of the backpack.Lay down your full front and put the pocket on top. Using that long basting stitch, sew the pocket on. Sew as close to the rough edge as you can.Then pin the piping around the edge, rough edges to the outside. Start at the bottom in the middle leaving and inch or two of piping hanging over the edge. (Look two pictures ahead for a better view of the piping)

When you get back to the beginning, cross the end over each other.

Baste using that really long stitch and your zipper foot.

Okay, so now we’re going to sew together the sides and bottom of the bag. you’ll need to put your regular foot back on the machine. Get your bottom piece, the two sides, and zipper top. Lay them out with the bottom in between the sides.

With right sides together, sew one side to the bottom.

Do the same with the other side.

Press your seams open

Iron on the Fusible interfacing to this piece.Topstitch on either side of your seams.

Now we’ll attach the zipper top to the piece you just made.Lay the short edge of the zipper piece (with the start of the zipper, not the end) on one of the short ends of the sides. Pin. Open the zipper a little so the tab doesn’t get in the way of sewing. Sew.

Open flat, press your seam away from the zipper. Topstitch below the zipper.

Trim the edges if the aren’t even.

Do you need a break?Now’s a good time (:

Chocolate maybe?Ice Tea?A nap?Deadliest catch? (My vice)

Okay, this next part is NOT hard. Well, it’s stiff because of the interfacing, but you can do it.Start by putting the heavy duty needle on your machine.

We are going to sew the sides of the backpack to the front. Lay out the pieces like so:

You want the bottom panel even in the middle.

Turn the bottom over and up.

Pin. See the blue dots above? You want to sew between these two points. It’s about an inch from each end-where the curve starts. Keep in mind:1. You don’t need to get too close to the piping, you’re just

going to stick it in it’s place right now. We’ll go back later to make it pretty, I promise (: I sewed it about 1/4 inch from the edge.

2. I didn’t use a zipper foot because there is so much stuff being sewn together it didn’t really make a difference. And I found that my regular foot helped keep it flat.

3. Be sure not to sew over your piping edge- it’s kind of hard to feel under all that stuff.

4. It doesn’t need to be pretty. See my line? Not even straight.

Now the corners. On the side fabric, cut out little triangles for about 1 1/2” . Make the triangles a little over 1/4 inch tall. This will help you turn the corner.

(Not so pretty, but it gets the job done!)

Now we pin.(I had to toss all the pins I used in this projects-they all bent) If you take the time to pin it well, it will come out fine.Start pinning from the bottom and then around up to the side. I found it easiest to fold the fabric as I went.

Sew around the corner and up the side til you get to the panel with the zipper in it. Again, you don’t need to get too close to the piping at this point.

Then do the other bottom corner the same way. This time when you sew up the side stop before you reach the pocket.(You should have about 1/2” of loose side fabric

After you’ve basted the bottom into place you need to sew it in, this time crowding the piping. Go slow so you can feel the piping with your fingers along the way.

When your done with this check the piping to see if there are any more spots that need to be crowded.

Some parts of my bag I will sew three or four times trying to

crowd the piping just right without going over it.

Don’t worry. No one will see the ugly inside of the backpack-even when we’re done. (Unless you decide to post it online where anyone can find it) Just make sure that when you look at the right side of the bag you like how it’s looking.

So now sew the top (the zipper portion) around the top of the bag the same way. This should be much easier than the bottom since there’s no interfacing.

Make sure you leave the last inch (or so) free.

Then sew again to crowd that piping in there.

So we’re going to sew up that loose end and the bottom of the zipper. First check out on the other side of the bag (at the start of the zipper) how the pocket and the side lined up. See how the side is a little above the pocket?

I like my sides to match as much as possible. Pin the other side taking in to consideration how far above or below the pocket you want to be.

Sew these sides together. Then fold the seam toward the bottom and topstitch below the end of the zipper.

Then go back and finish sewing the side to the front.

I know, it’s a little confusing. Any suggestions how I can clear it up?

Now we’ll make the straps and loop.Pull out the loop piece. Fold it in half the long way.

Clip a safety pin with a long piece of scrap ribbon to the middle of one of the short ends. This will help you turn the loop inside out.

Fold in half, wrong sides together, and sew. Be sure to not sew the ribbon.

Push the safety pin inward and gently pull the ribbon to turn the piece inside out.

Press flat.

Sew straight lines at quarter inch intervals along the long edge of the loop piece.

Set this piece aside.

Now sew your straps. Sew this the same way you did the loop piece. After you sew it cut it in half so you have two straps.Find your ring holder piece. Do the same thing with this as you did for the loop piece above. Cut this in half so you have two ring holders, each about 2” long.

Take one of the two inch pieces, wrap it through a rectangular ring and fold it in half. Sew the ends together close to the edge.

Do the same to the other ring holder and rectangular ring.Set these aside.

Now for the shoulder straps.Sew two should strap pads together, wrong sides together, along the long edge. Do not sew the short sides.

I used a dark thread to surge the edges-this makes it easier to see when you’re sewing the padding on-but it is NOT NECESSARY.

Lay two pieces of batting over the fattest part of the strap pad. Sew on around the edges, trim.

Using a large safety pin attached to a short open end of the strap pad and turn it right side out.

Push the safety pin in

then all the way through

then holding on to the fabric (not the pin) pull the whole thing right side out.

Clear as mud.With a cool iron press. Don’t press too much or you’ll melt your batting.

Lay the strap pads out. Decide which end should be the top and which should be the bottom. On the bottom mark 1 1/2” from edge:

At quarter inch intervals sew the long way from the top to the bottom of the strap pad stopping at the mark you made.

Turn in the bottom end.

Take one of the straps you made and push it into this bottom end.

Sew into place.

Do the same with the other strap pad and strap.

Let’s put together the back of the backpack.Sew piping to the back of the backpack the same way you sewed the piping to the front.

Pin the rectangle rings, straps and loop into place.

Sew close to edge using a close zigzag stitch.

You should be here:

Wrap up your straps using a rubber-band to keep them out of the way. (My straps are super long here- you shouldn’t have this much.)

Now get the front half of your backpack and open your zipper.

We’ll be sewing the back onto the sides of the backpack the same way we sewed the front on.

Starting at the bottom, pin together-right sides together. Sew between corners (remember the blue dots?).

Is your zipper open? Make sure (:Pin and sew the corners then the sides and the top.

Turn right-side out and look for “loose” piping-go back and crowd this piping where needed.

Admire how much you’ve done, you’re almost there!

Now to make the inside lining.Turn the bag inside out again.

Take your lining fabric out.Find the two zipper liner pieces. Fold over 1/2” along long side of two of the liner pieces, press.

Topstitch 1/4” along the folded edge.

Lay these two pieces along the zipper of the backpack. You are measuring how far apart these need to be to allow the zipper to work properly.

Pin to the liner side/bottom along one edge. Put the pieces at the width you measured above. After it’s sewn you can trim it down.

Sew into place.

Topstitch along the lower edge.

Trim zipper liner sides so that this piece is all one width.

Now we’ll sew the side piece on to the larger pieces of the liner. Starting at the top, pin zipper liner to one of the large liner piece. Pin and sew.

Pin and sew corners.

Move around fabric pinning and sewing until you get to the ends. Make sure you leave these free.

We’ll sew these together the same way we did with the outside of the backpack. Line up the end edges of the liner side and zipper liner and pin into place.

Sew.

Topstitch along the lower edge folding all the fabric on the backside of the lining down.

Finish sewing the side of the liner to the larger piece.

So here we are.

Now we’re going to pin the other large pice of the liner in place. I did the whole thing at once.

Make sure the right sides are together. Sew.

So we’ve got two pieces:

Line them up inside out with the bottoms facing each other. You are going to pin and sew the long bottom edges together-do not sew into the bag, stay on the edge of your seams.

Now turn the outside of the bag right side out with the liner inside. (turn it so it almost looks done)

Next you need to sew in the top of the liner.

Flip the zipper open to show the seam pointed out above.

Sew the backpack liner to the outside of the backpack along this seam. Use the raw edges of the fabric.

Do the same to the other side.

Now pin the liner to the edge of the zipper. Don’t get too close to the zipper teeth.

Topstitch from the outside being sure to catch the liner in your seam.

Repeat on the other side.

One more thing and we’re done!Straps. Thread the strap adjuster on to your strap like so:

Thread it through the rectangular ring.

Now you’re going to take the end and thread id back through

the top of the buckle and out the middle.

Using a very close zigzag stitch sew the end

Now just do the other strap.

Hot Dog! You’re done!Send me pictures if you make one and

please email me if you have any questions!

{ really, I like to be helpful }emsays@rocketmail.com

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toodleloo!