Ikatee have released a new pattern and it’s a backpack in three sizes (S/M/L) so you can make bags for the whole family! I love the design, it looks really well thought through and practical, and I also love a backpack. So I had to get this pattern! I decided to make it for my niece for her birthday.
The fabric
This pattern suggests using gabardine for the outer fabric, or a heavy canvas. I struggled to find a fun kids fabric in gabardine but there were quite a few canvases. Many of the canvases were lightweight but MyFabrics had a big range and I managed to find a fun jungle fabric with monkeys. For the inside I decided to buy a pre-quilted fabric, to save me some time. I ended up buying a furry soft quilting, in a yellow/orange color which I thought fit with the jungle theme!
With all the hardwear (buckles, webbing etc) this ended up being quite expensive – but I think I could have got everything much cheaper if I had shopped around a bit more. I bought 0.7m of each fabric and I’ve still got about 0.3m left – so you could probably make this small bag out of half a metre.
The pattern
The pattern gives you a choice of strap options – I decided to go with a standard backpack with handles but you can have one long strap instead (like a messenger bag). You can print the small pattern by itself which I like, makes it much more efficient with paper, and all the pattern pieces are clear.
The challenges
Ikatee provide lots of resources for their patterns and this one comes with a video – I absolutely needed to watch the video because I found this was quite a complicated make. It all came together nicely in the end, but it took me a whole weekend to do. I think I could be quicker if I make another one.
I’m really pleased I decided to use the quilted fabric – it saved me lots of time and confusion with the batting. For one of the bigger bags it might end up being more floppy but in the small size it has just the right amount of structure.
I had a bit of difficulty with the webbing – I bought this really study webbing, which is great but it wasn’t easy to work with. I’m glad I have an old vintage singer machine because it needed lots of strength to sew through it. I’m not sure a standard modern machine could have done it. For the final step where you make a little clasp to hold the handles together I ended up using the canvas instead of the webbing – this was because the webbing was too thick for the anorak fastenings.
The final result
I’m so delighted with how this came together – I managed to get the monkeys in all the right places, and it feels luxurious. My neice was so pleased with it she decided all her cuddly toys should sleep in there because it was so soft! I definitely recommend this pattern, and it’s a joy to sew. I think I’m going to make one for myself.
The sewing resolution 