Quilted Backpack

Quilted Backpack

I have been looking for a while for a reasonable pattern to make a quilted backpack out of. When I went to buy a pattern to make the blue and pink purse that I posted about last month, the pattern I chose had three purses and this quilted backpack. Four bags that are very much in my style and are functional? Money well spent. I looooove my backpack and plan on making one for Pieceful next week!

The Pattern

I used McCall's pattern 4118. I have previously blogged about Bag B (lower left), but today I will talk about Bag D (upper right). I honestly have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in the quality of instruction with this bag. I felt like they were trying to save themselves from having to print another page and therefore cut short on descriptions and illustrations for this bag. On another note, I lost probably 20 minutes of sewing time second guessing myself because they instruct you to cut too many of one piece. I must have read and re-read six times before I let myself carry on without really figuring it out. Here is a picture of the piece I was left with.

As you can see, it is size-able! I will probably make myself a zippered pouch, but really this was a very frustrating experience!

The Result

That being said, I really do love the end result. Below are some pictures of my final product.

The front of the bag. I love these colors. On the plain brown I used a lime green thread for a pop of color in the quilting.

The back of the bag. The straps are adjustable at the bottom with D-Rings (sorry the char is in the way of this detail) But in the future I would make the straps longer, these just barely fit my arms. There is a zipper down the middle of the back of the bag for quick access. I have mixed feelings about this. Mostly, I think it is wonderful for quick access to the bag but when you see the picture of the inside, you will see why I hesitate.

The instructions never said to finish off the edges of the zipper, so they are left raw. I thought about using some of the pink binding that can be seen covering some seams toward the inside front, but it was much too wide and I couldn't get it to work. In the future, I would know to think ahead and finish these edges off.

Closures. The top of the bag has a drawstring that is pulled through a grommet and then the flap is secured with a magnetic snap. I love both of these features..

Proportionally, this bag is just the right size. Not too big, not too small. It stands 12" tall, 10" wide and 4" deep. Very comfortable and sturdy!

Respectfully,

Harmony