The Bub in the Belly

I made this backpack on Thursday night. Well, actually I finished it in the wee hours of Friday morning, as I couldn't sleep and decided to get out of bed to get it done.

I got the pattern from indietutes. This is the second pattern made by someone else which I've used (the first one being the shirt/tunic I made before this). Previously, I would make up my own pattern (for example, when I made all the costumes for Ryan) and I enjoyed the creativity and engineering that was involved in that. Working with professionally marked patterns now, my focus is more on the techniques involved and I also enjoy it because there is so much to learn - from the way the pattern is laid out on the fabric, the various markings on the patterns, the various techniques of cutting the fabric according to the pattern, etc. Although I'm not involved in the design process, I still find it to be great fun and I like knowing that I'm learning new skills.

I can't bear to be completely left out of the design process though. I like to add my own improvements and personal touch. For this bag, I double stitched some green heading tape to the middle of the straps and I used a contrasting fabric for the side of the bag (plus I also made an inner lining for the side of the bag). 

So what do you think? It's meant strictly for toddler use - there are no zippers or buttonhole closures or snaps for the flap to fiddle with. The flap is just an overlap, which is good enough to prevent stuff falling out. There are no pockets in the bag, because toddlers will likely just dump their toys in without any organisation. Without all the bells and whistles, it is extremely light, almost weightless. It's also a little soft so it doesn't hold its shape very well, which is something I'm not thrilled about.

With the lessons learned from making this "prototype", I made two more backpacks for Ryan's friends, with some modifications and improvements - will share in another post!

Ryan is just ok with the backpack. Sometimes he's keen on it, sometimes he isn't. Now that I've come up with an improved version, perhaps I'll make another one for him in a more "childlike" fabric.