Backpack Bag

This is the "Day In the Park Backpack Tote" that I made for Trish's Birthday. It's a handy bag that can be used as a tote or a backpack depending on what you do with the straps. 

Here are some notes about what I did in this project:

• The outside fabric is a cotton/linen blend by Kokka and the inside is cotton from the Park Slope collection.
• I used canvas and heavy weight (Pellon 50?) interfacing. The pattern noted that you may be able to leave the one of the two out  (can't remember which) if your fabric was heavy enough, but I went for it anyways. I'm glad I did. The bag has good structure.
• I interfaced the inside zipper pocket so it would have more structure. I used lightweight interfacing for it. I also used a contrasting birdie fabric for the zipper pocket. Not only does it add a little fun, but it's easier to see in the pocket.
• I added .25" to the sides of the bag so it would be a little roomier. I added this to all the side pieces but forgot to add it to the inside facing. That was a real frustration of re-sewing until I finally realized my mistake....
• For the outside pocket, I cut it so the fabric pattern would match when sewn onto the main bag panel. I'm really glad I did that. Looks really nice.
• Added an inch or two in height to the outside pocket. I just felt in needed to be deeper.
• I learned not to stick the magnetic closure together before attaching it to the bag. Boy was it hard to get it back apart!
• There are rivets holding the straps around the o-rings. With canvas lining the strap, and it folded over twice (creating 3 layers of strap to rivet through), the rivets came un-done on Trish. I went to a leather supply store and purchased longer rivets in hopes that this fixes the issue. It was so hard to get the rivets through and connected the first time so I'm thinking the strap was just too thick for them to get properly connected.
• I used the triple stitch setting on my machine to sew the outside stitching on the handles/straps. I thought that would be a good idea since the straps would take a lot of tugging/stretching/abuse.
• I used my walking foot to sew the bag and I wouldn't do it without it if I were to make this again. I'm positive it helped me avoid major headaches.

Bag Inside with zipper pocket open