Checking back in here again to let you know I am still alive and baby is still happily swimming around his little cocoon. 🙂 39 weeks tomorrow and trying to relax and not anticipate his arrival any second…soo hard to do!

Well I hadn’t sewed in over a week because I am just so tired at nap-times that I take naps myself. My poor Bernina was looking so sad and neglected I just had to give her some attention yesterday! A few weeks back I had started a toddler backpack for Oliver using Rae’s pattern and some Dr. Seuss fabric I have been saving for just the right project. I got the outer backpack all finished and there it has been sitting waiting for a lining. Really happy I got to finish it yesterday because Oliver’s old backpack (also Dr. Suess 🙂 ) was a cheap nylon bag, and it is all but in shreds so he really needed a new one.

Thoughts on the pattern and construction:

I used Craft Fuse 808 to interface all the exterior pieces because they are quilting cotton weight. The lining is a medium weight twill fabric. I was worried it wouldn’t be sturdy enough but am happy to report that the interfacing and heavier weight lining combined to make a great sturdy bag! Now about the bag construction itself- This bag pattern is not for the faint of heart! It has quite the involved instructions and takes a bit of time to construct. However, like all of Rae’s patterns, the instructions are well-written and easy to follow- just be prepared to take your time. I am especially impressed with how professional-looking the strap turned out!

I got to use some of my new feet for the bag construction and really liked how easy the piping foot made that section come together. I also looked through the flickr group before making my bag in order to get some ideas and decided to add pockets to each side panel. They were pretty straight-forward and easy to add except that I think the gathered one needs to be just a bit bigger in order to hold his water bottle. Oliver loves his new bag and likes to carry it around one-handed to show people…kinda cool that he’s old enough to appreciate what I make for him now!