Draws Trin Backpack

8/13/2019 Draws Trin Backpack

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happ things

The Mama Backpack - the tutorial to end all tutorials

Thanks for all the comments and well wishes on m 10 0th post esterda . And now....

Finall , as pro mised, the Mama Backpack Tutorial (Non-Mama's welco me!!)

Hold on to our hat folks -- there are a lot of steps. If ou hav e made lined bags before this is probabl prett familiar to ou, butI've tried to be detailed in case ou are a newbie like me. If this doesn't make sense, go back and review the prev ious drawstring

bag tuto rials (look in arc hiv es unde r Tuto rials.) And man , man thanks to Mom for helping me figure out the o riginal patternand kuddos to Mother-in-law for bu ing the original bag in Guatemala.

I can't wait to see how YOUR bag turns out!

Click photos for a larger view.

Materials:1/2 ard o uter fabric; 1/ 2 ard lining fabric A l ittle c ot ton batt ingGrommets & grommet punch/press4 ards of co rd -- thick stuff since it is a backpack this timeSew-on v elcro - optional


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1. Make yo urself a pattern. It will be 15 .5 inches wide and 17 .5 inches tall. (Apologies to metric folks.) Round the bottom edge alittle. This includes a 3/8" seam allowanc e all around. Draw a FOLD DOWN OUTER line at 1 1 /4" below the seam allowance. Draw another LINING CUT LINE 1/ 2" below the first line. Draw anothe r SEW TO HERE line 1/ 2" below the first line. Mark two Xs 13"apart on the bottom edge. These Xs indicate where to stop sewing up the sides. Here are some mor e photos to help y ou makesense of these instructions.

2. Now draw the pattern for the botto m (its the ov al laying on top of the piece abov e.) It will be an oval 11 .5" wide by 5 5/8" tall.This includes a 3/8 inch seam allowance .

3. Cut yo ur pieces. Cut 2 pieces from your o uter fabric. Cut 2 pieces of your lining fabric (the same pattern, but shorter -- cuttingon the CUT LINING HERE line).


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4. C iece f he b f he bag a a ec a g e ab 1 2.5" 6.5" ( e i ed -- ' c he a d i e af ei i g). F he b , c 1 e fab ic, 1 i i g fab ic, a d 1 iece f ba i g.

5. S ac he b iece a h (ba i g i be ee , igh ide ) a d i a de i ed. I i ched i e ab 2 i che

-- e a i e aigh . The , a he a e ade d , a d c he b .

6. Y h d ha e he ab e h . 2 e iece , 2 i i g iece , a a i ed b iece.

7 . If a a e c e , i he i e. He e' h I did i e.


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10 . Pin lining piece igh ide oge he . No , looking a o pa e n and an fe ing he ma k , e p bo h ide f om he Xhe bo om e dge o he SEW TO HERE line (ba icall 1/ 2" f om he o p of he lining.)

11 . B ea he. A e o ill i h me? Can o belie e I am ing o e plain hi o o on a blog? Me ei he . B I p omi ed. I i h I co ld j ho o in pe o n.

12. No , befo e e can do he ame o he o e fab ic, need o make he flap fo he co d and g omme o go h o gh.

13. (NOTE: I an o of o e fab ic o I ed he lining fab ic fo he e. I o ld ha e p efe ed he o e iped fab ic and o ill p obabl oo. ) C 2 piece 3 " 8" Fold in half leng h i e and p e . Fold bo h end o mee in he c en e ( e e pho o abo e.)P e . Fold again in half. S i ch a o nd he 3 fini hed ide (Y o 'll p he a ide in o he eam.)

14. Follo he in c ion on o o ol o p nch he g omme in o he cen e of he e piece . Make e o choo e g omm big e no gh fo 2 piec e o f o c o d o go h o gh b mall eno gh ha he kno on' lip h o gh.


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15 . Place the grommet panels inside the 2 outer b ag pieces about 2 inches from the bottom with raw edges out into seam. Pin thepanels toge ther and sew the same as t he lining - from the X at the bo ttom to the SEW TO HERE line. NOTE: This will be furtherdown from the top for this piece - leaving a larger por tion at the top for folding down.

16. Mark center of both sides of both the long and short sides of the bottom piece. Mark the center of both sides of the bottomedge of the lining pieces and the the outer piec es. This will help ou in getting things pinned.

17 . Breathe again. Are o u still with me? Pin the lining (still wrong side out) to the lining side of the botto m panel, matching upthe cente r marks and matching the side seam allowance with the center o f the short edge . Adjust and adjust again until it isrelativel smoo th. A few puckers here won't kill an one. Leave the side seams "up."

I'm not sa ing this is eas or quick, but if I can do it, ou can do it. Here's a view of the side seams up.


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18. Sew pieces together from side seam to side seam with about 3/8 inch seam allowance. I sewed ov er the pins, ver slowl , butI'm not sa ing ou should. Use our judgement. Use needle down position and adjust the fabric as ou need to when ou goaround the curv es. Stop when o u get to the other side seam, backstitch, cut threads and then repeat on the other side. Now oushould have this...

19 . Now, leaving the lining where it is, do the same thing with the outer fabric , pinning it to the outer side of the bottom panel.


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20. E en ho gh o ' e pinned he fab ic on he o e fab ic ide, o ill an o go ahead and i ch on lining ide again o ocan follo he e ac ame i ch line o ed befo e. J be eall c a ef l i h he bo om fab ic po i ion, adj ing of en, odoe n' ge ca gh . When o a e done i ching bo h ide , o 'll ha e hi .

21. Read fo he f n? No , flip he o e fab ic p! Y o bag look a e ome!


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22. Fold and press the sides of the top of the outer fabric to create a finished edge for our c asing. Fold and press the outer fabricdown o n the FOLD DOWN HERE line, to c reate the top fold of our c asing. Oh, I hope this is still making sense.

23. Now, fold under the lining so that it ov erlaps the outer fabric slightl , but cr eates a finished edge. Press. Pin.

24. Top stitch right along the top of the lining fold and the top edge o f the bag to create the casing for our c ord.


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25. Insert the cord through the top of the bag and down into the grommets and knot. If you need mo re help with this step, seeprev ious tutorials. I would rec ommend that you try the bag on, fully loaded and adjust the length of the cord so it fits you welland doesn't hang too low. Cut cord and use white glue or fray chec k on the ends to secure.

Wow. Y ou did i t. Wear t he Mama Backpac k proudly . (OR rename you r Non-Mama Backpack to suit you r life !)

25 Steps. Sheesh. World peace can probably be ac heived in less.

If you try this, please let me know if something is confusing and I'll see if I c an clarify. If you have suc cess, share with me andev ery one by posting a comment with a link to your b log or photo if possible. Happy sewing from happythings.

Apr il 25 , 20 06 in Drawstr ings, Sewing/Quilts/ Crafts , Tutor ials Pe rmalink

Commen

Great tu torial. I like the contrasting fabric for th e flaps. I will be adding t his to my to do list. Tha nks for shar ing!

Posted by : Laur ie April 25, 2006 a t 09:3 4 AM

Wow, y ou a re v ery am bit ious. You did a gr eat job. Ev ery th ing looks won der ful a nd I wil l defini tel y tr y to m ak e it ! Th an ks so much forma king a t utorial. School started again so my crafting tim e has gone way down. Oh and the kiddies LOVED the concentration cards. I hadto set up a sharing sy stem because they a ll want ed them at once!

Posted by : Susanna Alonso April 25, 2 006 at 1 0:15 A M

Just one question I forgot to ask....wh at do y ou suggest if I dont hav e the gr omet stuff? I thought ma y be I could I make but ton holes insteadand pass the cord through t hat.

Posted by : Susanna Alonso April 25, 2 006 at 1 0:18 A M

Now I finally hav e a REALLY GOOD EXCUSE to purchase a g romet m aker. Th anks!

Posted by : capello April 25, 2006 at 1 2:3 4 PM

great tut orial!!! passing this link t o my D-I-L ...she will love...

Posted by : Dawn April 25, 2 006 at 01 :19 PM

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Draws Trin Backpack