homemade rucksack (backpack, knapsack, whatever!!)

26 April 2015


I made a rucksack! It's not for me but another little person in the family, who had a birthday recently. 
I got the idea for the design from a bag I already had as it looked quite simple to make, but,  it was not simple to make! It was just pretty difficult to get some bulk fabric through the machine and it is quite a complicated task to work out how to construct it so that hardly any stitches can be seen on the outside, it's a bit like rubix cube. 
Any how, I'm fairly pleased with the result, it is pretty sturdy and will do the job well enough I think. The only real mistake I made was that I put the straps too far apart at the top for a small person so it better suits an older girl. The recipient is three, oops. At least she won't grow out of it for a while ; ) I added a small detachable clip to the straps to make it fit better but I have yet to test it out on a toddler. 

I doubled up the fabric by using thick canvas for the lining and corduroy with wadding for the back panel to give it some oomph. I bought the webbing, buckles and adjusters from a supplier on Ebay quite cheaply.



I used these magnetic fasteners, I backed them on the inside with a bit of thick wool felt to reinforce the fabric. The straps are padded with polyester wadding

...and I bound the inside seems with the stripey bias binding.


Of course no handmade pressie is compete without a name label...I embroidered this with neon pink sewing thread onto cotton tape.


I really enjoyed this project and working in my shed on a sunny afternoon...I had some visits from my nipper to see what I was up to...needless to say I have now been commissioned to make one for her too (she has already chosen the fabric for her's). By the way, the fabric I used is 100% organic cotton by Birch fabrics and unbleached cotton calico from my local haberdashers.

I hope that she can take it on her future outdoor adventures, being a country girl, I'm sure there will be many! I put some things inside too...a story about camping (Orlando the cat if you know it?), a lantern and a little toy wolf (camping buddy!).





12 comments

  1. That is beautiful. Lucky Amelie.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aw it's gorgeous! Perfect for her next adventure. I'm not surprised Pehr is after one too! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. just beautiful. Great fabrics too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You could try pelmet vilene for bags. It gives structure without too much bulk. It is stiff but you can stitch through it.

    Love that fabric and it's such a sweet little rucksack.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So sweet, such a beautiful gift for a littleun. It's wonderful you make time to do little home made gifts for friends.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Crikey, that looks like a lot of hard work to me but it's beautiful and the fabric is adorable. What a lovely gift.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm pretty much lost for words! That is the luckiest little girl in the world, I bet it was hard to part with the bag once you had finished making it! So so beautiful. We're about to be 'farm sitting' at my mums for 6 weeks and I'm very excited to be able to have access to a sewing machine again (even if it is an old Elma that belonged to my grandmother in the early 1960s).

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lovely fabric and what a great gift!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Artemis this is just brilliant! My 19 year old university student daughter has just bought a Fjallraven Kanken backpack obstensibly for all her books but it is so flimsy with no padding whatsoever I can't see it being fit for purpose and it will probably end up in landfill before too long. Your homemade rucksack on the other hand looks so well-made and substantial. Oh and the FK one retails for about £60, although my daughter bought hers half price as it is an unfashionable khaki colour. I love your choice of fabric and your attention to detail.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wonderful fabric..she is going to love it!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm not so little a girl anymore (not for a good number of years) and I would still be very,very thrilled to receive a rucksack like this as a gift.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is just fabulous! I'm sure Pehr will love having one too. What a lucky little sprite having such a talented Mummy. Loving all the photos of your jaunts to London too! Xx

    ReplyDelete

© Journal. Design by FCD.