I made a backpack! And I lived to tell the tale!!

If you told me a year ago that I would be able to make my own backpack and actually wear it, I’d probably laugh in your face. Yet here we are! The amazing Sarah Kirsten’s new pattern has taken the sewing world by storm by releasing this awesome backpack that is an amazing dupe for those hip canvas backpacks you can see when you travel to any urban city or well-to-do high school – without the crazy high price tag!

When brainstorming what I’d like to make out of it, I decided to go big and bright with orange and blue – two colors that remind me of Houston (specifically our baseball team – #GoStros)! I love the boldness of pairing bright, complementary colors – these are colors that a lot of readily purchased items stray away from, so it truly adds to the uniqueness of the handmade object. The nice part about picking orange and blue in my personal context is that it definitely blends in and contributes to more of a city pride aesthetic, rather than choosing red and green complementary colors – a la Christmas vibes.

Anyways, the backpack turned out awesome in my opinion, so naturally I had to do what all Texans must do this time of year and have a photo shoot in the bluebonnets (the state flower of Texas!).

Pattern: Raspberry Rucksack from Sarah Kirsten

Fabric: orange duck canvas from Joann Fabrics, lining was an old chambray cotton pillowcase

Hardware: navy molded plastic zippers from Joann, metal slide adjusters and rectangular rings also from Joann Fabrics

Difficulty: her website says “Advanced Beginner/Intermediate”… I would probably label it more as an intermediate pattern because it was definitely landed on the more challenging side of the spectrum of projects that I’ve attempted

Time: Entire day

Something that I admire about patterns from Sarah Kirsten is that the the pattern itself is usually just a set of dimensions that the maker will then have to make their own pattern pieces themselves! This lends some insight into the pattern making process and I honestly felt like I had more ownership of the product, if that makes sense. I was definitely intimidated about making the backpack, and definitely ran into a few road bumps along the way, but I found the sew-a-longs on Sarah Kirsten’s website to be extremely helpful! Her posts gave a lot of visual detail and more information about choosing hardware and more. I already have plans to make the Little Raspberry Rucksack!

As for the backpack itself, I was amazed at how spacious it turned out! I love the details like the zipper flap, and the bias binding finish is tedious but oh-so-satisfying! I’ll take one of these in every color 🙂 I think if I were to make modifications in the future, I would add in a laptop pouch and a water bottle side pocket, and maybe even a key leash to keep myself from losing my keys at the bottom of my bag all the time!

Final Thoughts: I would recommend this pattern for anyone looking for a challenge! The instructions are very thorough and easy to follow. Opportunities for creativity and customization are endless! I can’t wait to make another one.

Lastly, outfit details from the photo shoot include a Willamette Shirt from Hey June Handmade, hot off the sewing machine! Fabric is a breezy block printed cotton from Fibers to Fabric on Etsy.

Brief life moment, I helped out with babysitting two of my younger cousins at my family’s home and got a cute finished project picture! Seeing this photo in my camera roll gave me a good laugh 🙂

What projects have you accomplished recently that have surprised you? What challenges are you hoping to take on soon?

Love,

Danica ❤