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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.

Update: September 26, 2024

This mini-backpack matches the reduced-size Sandhill Sling featured in a previous post. The bulldog feature was made the same way discussed in the original post:

"The fabric is cotton from "Imaginary Flowers" collection by Gingiber for Moda. The bulldog panel was created by cropping a photo of a family pet, sending it through the Waterlogue app . . . I made a word processor file using that photo, and printed the file with an ink-jet printer on purchased fabric sheets made for for ink-jet printing. The ink-jet print is stable after setting ink with an iron."







Comments

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

caj
7/31/2024
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