How to make a backpack/rucksack...

A while back I decided I needed a backpack for days when I went cycling- it didn't need to be very big just big enough to fit the essentials like keys, phone, purse, water bottle, jumper.  So I scoured the internet and actual real shops and found nothing until I stumbled across an etsy shop.  Looking at their backpacks I realised I could make my own fairly easily.  And it was fairly easy but given the nature of making bags with linings (you make the bag inside out, with all the straps and hat not hidden inside when you sew) it required me to unpick and resew as I had put things in upsidedown and back to front.

The trick to making it yourself is getting all the bits in the right place in the right order (duh) but if you do it wrong you have to unpick and dig in to an inside out back to front bag and re do it.  I made a new bag recently because my old one had some problems (the straps were too short, the bag was slightly too small, and there was no proper clips to fasten it) so I thought I'd document it for you all.

Here is my pattern! It's super sophisticated as you can see but it's pretty much what you need.
Of course the size of the bag is up to you but these are the sizes I used.
You need:
Main pieces for the bag body x2 lining
                                               x2 fabric
Strap pieces x2 lining
                    x2 fabric
Front flap piece x 1 lining
                          x1 fabric
Pockets x whatever fabric you want, I didn't put any into mine.
Tube for drawstring x 1lining (I didn't draw this but it needs to be about 5 cm wide and long enough to go all the way around the top of the backpack- my bag was about 34cm wide so I needed my my tube to be 68cm long).
Little straps for clips- x4 fabric (again not on my pattern but they should be the right width to fit your clips and the right length for your preference).
Toggles for the drawstring, and clipy things to fasten the backpack at the front.

Step 1. Cut out all the pieces- remember to add at least 1cm of seam allowance to every edge.

Step 2. Make the little straps for the clips- I had two clips so I got 4 pieces of fabric and sewed them into pairs.  Then feed these through your clips and sew one half onto the front of your main bag (the fabric piece not the lining piece)

 

 Step Three- Also on the front bag piece add your pockets or anything else you want to put on the front, you wont have chance later on.  Don't worry about the back of the fabric all the threads will be hidden by the lining.

Step Four- Make the front flap, this is the flap which will close over the top of the bag and make it more secure.  Put the fabric flap piece and lining flap piece and pin them right sides together along the side seams.  Take the other halves of the clips and attach the little straps to them then pins those in the bottom edge inbetween the fabric and the lining- with the clips hidden inside.  Then sew around the three pinned seams and turn right way round.  And if you found that instruction confusing you wont like the subsequent ones!

 

Step five- Take the shoulder straps pieces right sides together and sew the lining and the fabric shoulder pieces along the long side seams- leave the small seams open.  Then turn the straps right way round .

 

Step six- Take the main bag body fabric pieces right sides together and sew along the long side seams, and turn the bag right way round.  Then sew the lining pieces in the same way but keep this inside out.  Place the fabric bag inside the lining bag.

Step seven- Take your draw string tube fold it in half (wrong sides together and fold it width ways so it is still long and thing) and iron or pin in place.

Step eight- Ok- listen carefully!  Take your bag body and along the top edge (it doesn't make a difference which is top and which is bottom at this point so pick an open end).  Inbetween the lining and the bag place the straps (near the side seams, and with the main fabric facing up), the front flap (with the main fabric facing down)  the drawstring tube (make sure the centre of the bag matches the half way point of the tube).  You should end up with a sandwich that goes bag, strap, flap, tube, lining.   But all of the pieces should be hidden inside the bag.  

Step nine- Turn over the bag and carry on pinning in the draw string tube in the front of the bag (but still inbetween the bag and lining.   Now sew along the top of the bag going through all the layers attaching the bag and lining.

Step ten- Now turn the bag around so you are dealing with the bottom open end of the bag.  Reach in and find the shoulder straps and feed the ends of the them into the bottom of the fabric bag and pin in place.  Be careful that the straps aren't twisted.  The bag is currently sitting inside the lining- but you need access to the bag to sew the bottom seam.  So holding the bag with the top edge you just sewed at the top reach in and pull out the bag leaving the lining behind.  You now have the bag right sides together including the straps pinned in place.  Sew along this seam.  Place the bag back inside the lining.    It should look something like this except without the straps showing at the bottom because I initially made a mistake. 

Step eleven- You should still have a hole in the bottom seam of the lining.  Reach your hand into through this hole and pull through it all of the rest of the bag.  Check the bag over and that everythings in the right place then sew the hole in the lining as neatly as possible.  Then place the lining inside the bag.  

Step twelve- The last step is to thread the drawstring and add toggles.  

Fabric Christmas Tree

Using the same method I used to make my cactus pin cushion I made a christmas tree out of left over fabric.   I had two types of green fabric which I cut into 6 triangles.  I sewed them together in pairs to make 3 triangles, I then placed them on top of each other and sewed down the middle to create 6 pockets.  I then stuffed them with toy stuffing.  I sewed the bottom and attached a roll of brown fabric for the trunk.  Alas poor tree does not stand up and has to be propped but I have not had chance to buy a pot to put it in :(

Ninja Lavender Bag

I struggled to work out what to get boyfriend for our impending anniversary...I love giving and receiving presents, he does not.  And said boyf took seven weeks to give me a birthday present...so I can't hold out much hope for something in return...

But I love giving presents so perhaps this is my present to me? Well that's sad but regardless I have made him...a Ninja lavender bag!

I used my little felt ninja as a guide for how my lavender Ninja should look.  I made the Ninja the same way I made my Mario plushie; I drew my Ninja on some A4 paper, then cut it into the individual pieces.  I had some black cotton fabric from when I attempted to make a work skirt and some peach-ish fabric from an old pillow case for the skin.  I pinned the pattern pieces to the fabric and cut each bit out (very simple pattern; black body and arms, and two black strips for face and one peach strip for face).
I used the handle of a paper bag wrapped in black thread for the ninja erm...stick...

Then I bought some lavender on Amazon (£5 for 250g approx), and filled the Ninja with lavender.
He can use it in his wardrobe or under his pillow to aid his poor sleeping. 

Bunting!!!

Well I got some pinking shears for Christmas from mother to cut a nice crinkling edge, and I'm finally getting round to using them.. As far as I know the only thing you need them for is bunting which, coincidentally, I love so Bunting it had to be.

Very simple to make it requires pinking shears*, fabric, a triangular template**, ribbon or string, and a sewing machine***.  I held the triangular template onto the fabric and used the pinking shears to cut them out, they may not be perfect but that's part of the home made charm.  For a more polish look you would draw around the template onto the fabric before cutting.  I used four different fabrics and cut four bunts of each one- although I used a random pattern so I didn't use all my pieces.

Then arrange the bunts in the order you want, and pin them on the ribbon/string.  I used a nice red ribbon I picked up for £1, and I pinned the triangles to the back of it, then I sewed them.  And that was that.

Festive :)

*They're expensive as scissors go, I think mine came in at £10 but that's a cheapish pair.  You could just cut straight using regular scissors but that would be sad.
**A triangle cut out of cardboard, my advice is to start with a rectangle, fold in half then cut off the corners to make it even.
***Hand sewing is for suckers...suckers with lots of time on their hands...