I feel fairly safe posting this as I don't think my manager reads my blog.
We both turn 30 this year (although for 3 weeks she will insist I'm a year older than she is), so I've made her a present. Ta-da!
There's not actually much to blog about because it was a fairly straight-forward project, even though it's my first backpack project.
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Gold denim backpack. She's worked for the company for 10 years this year
(it's a denim company which I can't name for legal reasons). A gold, denim backpack seems fitting.
Plus, you know, she's awesome. |
It's not glamorous, but it's nice, I think.
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I sneakily got her to tell me her favourite quotes and one was "Collect memories, not things."
So I embroidered it onto the back. |
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| Convertible Strap in the best colour match I could get. |
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| The next time I make a bag, I will make the side pockets a little wider to allow for turn-of-cloth. |
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| Strap extensions with little hearts stitched on. |
Internal Shots
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| A zipped pocket. Actually quite easy. |
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| Side view with contrast strip where the lining was somehow too short. C'est la vie. |
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| Patch pocket for earbuds or whatever. |
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| Other side. |
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The base has more layers than an ogre. I was going to add buttons as feet but decided they
might break, and this is at least launderable.
Also the front and back base are lined differently because I only thought of the better
way of doing it after I'd lined the front. This seam is bagged. The front one is just bound
like the rest of the internal seams. |
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The front lining at the base. Bound.
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Glamour Shots of Embroidery
Things I've Learned During this Project
- Bag making is hard
- Check your maths. And make your patterns on the computer where maths can be automated.
- You CAN overdo stiffening
- Don't stiffen seam allowances.
- Bag stiffener comes in very narrow widths and you should check this before you buy. Thankfully I had just enough.
- Centre notches are ESSENTIAL. Especially if your sewing machine's feed is slightly diva-ish.
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| Sewing the front pocket onto the front. Centre marks are essential. |
- There is a use for machine basting in really big stitches: attaching sew-in stiffener. (See above.)
- Yet again the adjustable sewing gauge shows its value. If you can get one of these for your machine, I recommend it.
- How to make continuous bias binding! It always confuses me, but I found this tutorial and it helped so much. Especially with the infographic they made. (The music is nice too.)
Non-sewing things
- How to make a video and edit it on Adobe PremierePro
- You should film over your left hand if you're right-handed
Pattern to download
Note: This is the corrected pattern. It should work, but I haven't tested it. Make at your own risk, and feel free to provide feedback. :)
Next project
Well, given this whole Coronavirus thing, I'm going to start making scrubs for the local hospital, if they need them. That shouldn't be too hard. It's a bit of a detour, but if I can help that way, I think I should.
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