It's so neat that my grandchildren have wants and needs that I can help with. Wishes that fall right within my talents. Summer went to her first sleepover, along with her brother, and found that sleepovers make it necessary to have the proper luggage. She wished for a backpack like her friends that would enable her to arrive at sleepovers in style. A request came my way and so off I went to do my Google search, and found a wonderful free pattern at craftgossip.com
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| A bright, fun backpack for Summer. |
The fun thing about making it is it can be made with scraps or take yourself on a shopping trip and buy new stuff. I used a few pieces from Moda's Oh Cherry Oh honey bun. For non-quilters that's a roll of 1 and 1/2 inch strips cut from a fabric collection and rolled into a round that resembles a cinnamon bun. I alternated the colored strips with a solid yellow and found a beautiful scrap of red for the flap; with enough left over to make another backpack flap. Gee, I wonder if Aidan needs one too.
The pattern is simple enough and you can add a few features to make it special and unique. I love learning about new products. This pattern called for using Timtex, which was new to me. It's a heavy stiffened interfacing, in this case it can be ironed on to the fabric and bonds well. It made the pink collar opening stiff and holds the backpack open.
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| The back |
A few weeks ago I found nylon webbing at JoAnn's Fabric Store and made a mental note to remember it in case I found a use for it. As soon as I started working on the backpack I knew I'd be making a trip to the store to buy some instead of making the straps from fabric. It comes in lots of colors, I chose green to match the green in the print.
I added a pocket to the lining, a carry loop made from the strapping, used a piece of coreboard to make the bottom rigid; a piece of velcro to fasten the flap and a cute button.
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| A special touch of gold. |
The most special touch is Summer's initial in gold glitter. Now what more could a girl ask. I'm going to pack this special gift up and mail it off to Summer as soon as I can. I hope it arrives in time for her next sleepover.
One of the things that make your crafts so amazing is the attention to detail. It doesn't sound like you could have made this any more perfect! I'm SO impressed and can't wait to see it! These kids are so lucky to have you for a grandma. ;)
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed to and I echo Lola's sentiment that they are so lucky to have yo as a Grandma. It is so wonderful to have all of those homemade gifts that will be part of their life forever. Their other Grandma does not have those talents -- I admire your work so much. ;)
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