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.

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
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; your results may vary. ...
15 comments
Read more

Scrappy log cabin blocks

by Linda Theil Scrappy Log Cabin quilt block by Linda Theil  Next month the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild will host a virtual quilt-along to make quilts for the SafeHouse Center womens' shelter in Ann Arbor, Michigan. One of the suggested blocks to make at the event is a Scrappy Log Cabin suggested by GAAQG member and artist Mary Bajcz. I love the Log Cabin block design and decided to get a head start on next month's event by organizing my materials and develping a process for making my Scrappy Log Cabin blocks. I began by watching Mary's YouTube video: "Scrap Quilt Strategy: The Log Cabin Technique" , and many others available on the topic. What a variety of approaches!   I'm not much of an improvisor and this is the first time I've tried the scrappy approach to quilt making. So It was quite an adventure for me. I pulled out my scrap bin and began sorting for lights and darks. After looking at many videos, I decided to work with a central square of 2.5-i...
1 comment
Read more

Dutilh Centennial Cookbook Digital Edition published today

by Linda Theil Cranberry Library announced today that it has published the Dutilh Centennial Cookbook Digital Edition on its new Local History webpage. They said: "Cranberry Library is pleased to provide access to the Dutilh Centennial Cookbook Digital Edition , published in honor of the centennial celebration of the dedication of the Dutilh Methodist Church on November 30, 1979." As organizers of this digitization project, we are grateful for and indebted to library staff Leslie Pallotta, Director; Rebecca Bess, Assistant Director; and Mallory Laporte.  This longtime wish and dream could not have come true without the generous support of The Reverend Tom Parkinson, Pastor of Dutilh United Methodist Church; who wrote a moving dedication to the digital edition of this work. We thank him. Dutilh Centennial Cookbook  editorial assistant Janet Duncan of Cranberry Township provided this contemporary newspaper clipping from the November 3-4, 1979 edition of the Butler county New...
1 comment
Read more