Skip to main content

Backpack-ettes

by Linda Theil

Jess on the Oklaroots YouTube channel created a video titled, "The cutest bag I've ever made! The Bitty Bug Pack -- Carolina Little Stitches will have you OBSESSED!"

I ordered the PDF "Bitty Bug Pack" pattern from Carolina Little Stitches, and the pattern included a link to another sew-along with The Crafty Reporter. While the pattern is comprehensive and nicely presented, inexperienced crafters will find the videos very useful.

The pattern includes many options and features to make the tiny 3.5x4.5x1.5-inch backpack an ideal copy of the real thing, but I stripped mine down to basics, eliminating straps and exterior pockets and trims. I am not normally a fan of creating tiny things, but Jess at Oklaroots was right, I am obsessed.

My version of the tiny backpack includes a single, exterior loop and D-ring that can carry a carabiner or wristlet; and a single interior slip pocket that can include a feature badge or label. 


The bag is finished by binding the two interior, gussetted seams. I recommend sewing 1-3.8-inch bias strips to the raw edges of the gusset before sewing the gusset to the front and back panels, then finishing the binding by hand instead of machine. This procedure cuts down on the number of times you have to use your sewing machine within the tight confines of the tiny bag. For one of the bags I made I experimented with eliminating the binding altogether, and zig-zag stitched the finished interior seams instead. I can't say it hurt the looks of the bag at all, although the hand binding does add a sweet touch to the finished bag.


Shown below is a tiny backpack made from a panel of quilted cotton without a lining except for the gusset which was not quilted. I zig-zag stitched the interior seams to finish. I also added a wristlet strap so that the little backpack could be carried separately, or attached to the exterior of a larger bag as a bag charm.

Update: August 29, 2024


Here are two more pared-down mini-backpacks -- this time in fabrics from the "Jubilee" collection by Tone Finnanger for Tilda. They sport riveted zipper-pulls in Mora faux leather.




Comments

Cathy said…
So adorable! Love it, your description, and the construction!!

caj
7/31/2024
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Notes on Purl Soho Cross-back Apron pattern

Purl Soho Cross-back Apron, regular sized,  front view Purl Soho Cross-back Apron, regular sized,   back view by Linda Theil This is the Purl Soho Cross-back Apron featured on their website at  https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2015/11/20/cross-back-apron . Their page includes complete directions for making this one-size-fits-most apron with large, side-pockets and cross-back straps. This retro apron is so nicely made and looks so much like the apron my grandma wore in the Nineteen-fifties that I had to make one for my friend who appreciates the nostalgia and the beauty of this design. Although this apron pattern, as published, can adjust to several sizes from 2-10; I also made a larger option, adjusting the width of the pattern pieces to accommodate up to size 16 and up. Size adjustment may also be made by varying the length of the straps. These notes are a record of my experience with the pattern, and should only be viewed as commentary; y
13 comments
Read more

Holiday weekender

  by Linda Theil Alisa's always cleaning house and often asking me if I want some item I'd given her before she sent it to a new home. I couldn't refuse the holiday-print, round table cloth I had bordered in red pom-poms forty years ago, even though she had slit the cloth to the center so that she could use it as a tree skirt. I decided I would make a holiday-getaway bag from the salvageable remnant. The olive-drab faux waxed canvas I ordered on sale looked really great with the old print. I used Diane Spencer-Ogg's outstanding "Escape Pod Travel Collection" patterns. Pictured below: The holiday themed “Weekend Bag” and "Travel Clutch" in olive-drab faux waxed-duck canvas from Sally Tomato , vintage holiday print exterior and interior, and accents of Mora bordeaux faux leather from Emmaline Bags . Pattern and video tutorial "Escape Pod Travel Collection: Weekend Bag and Travel Clutch" by Diane Spencer-Ogg. Weekend Bag front Weekend Bag bac
Post a Comment
Read more

Sujata Shah's no-template piecing

16-inch, four-patch "pinwheel" block designed by Sujata Shah, pieced by Linda Theil 2016 Fabrics:  Sturbridge line by Kathy Schmitz for Moda and Daily Zen line by Michael D'Amore for Benartex. I attended quilt artist Sujata Shah's "Pinwheel" class sponsored by the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild  at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor  on July 17, 2016. Shah is inspired by the work of Gee's Bend quilters and has developed a no-template method of piecing to emulate their unstructured designs. Shah's book, Cultural Fusion Quilts , is available at Amazon.com.  Shah's uses four 11-inch squares to make each block, but she said a quilter could use any size base they choose. Since I had a package of precut 10-inch squares in the "Sturbridge" design by Kathy Schmitz for Moda, I based my block on that size. We were instructed to bring a variety of backgrounds in one color and brights in another color. Since I signed up late for
2 comments
Read more