My daughter starts preschool next week and she needed a backpack. I asked her if she’d like me to make one for her and she said YES!
I let her choose fabric from my stash and helped her with coordinating the colors. I really like how it turned out and she loves it. My only problem is getting her to wear it. Right now, she just wants to carry it by the straps.
I used Martha’s Easy Beach Bag pattern with a few modifications:
• inside is canvas instead of nylon
• inside has two pockets
• used fabric instead of cord for the straps
• serged the raw edges inside
Drawstring Strap How-to:
Feed strips of denim through a 1-inch bias tape maker, fold the tape in half and stitch it together. Once threaded through the loops, sew the ends together because they’ll be too thick to knot.
stash: This is one of those occasions that I love having a stash of fabric. It’s so easy to dive right into a project when the motivation strikes! Plus, using a thrifty stash is so affordable. I’m guessing this cost less than $2 to make. Sweet!
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8 Responses to easy backpack with bias tape straps
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Julie is a freelance designer and writer. She has a passion for finding new uses for old, loved things, and will sew anything: sweaters, shirts, jeans. Nothing is safe if it fits under her presser foot!subscribe
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cute!!! Ah, I bet she loves it! Good one, mom!
Sarah M
[...] Julie from julie-k shares a back-to-school tutorial for a simple drawstring backpack with bias tape straps. This is a quick, easy sewing projects well suited for beginners. Get the how-to. [...]
Great version of the drawstring backpack! Thanks for posting a how-to for the fabric straps. They’re a nice look.
I posted a link to your project on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-back-to-school-drawstring-backpack/2009/09/06/
–Anne
Thanks for the tutorial! It’s a really nice backpack and I want to make one for my daughter too!
Less than $2 to make??? Where do you buy your fabric??? $10-$12 a yard here.
Cyndi, I get almost all of my fabric from garage sales, thrift stores and freecycle.
[...] Another idea for a backpack for Grady. [...]
Wow this backpack looks amazing! I was just wondering if you could show us the inside, what type of pockets did you choose? Also how would you recommend up sizing this for someone around 14-15?