My First Backpack!

A few weeks back, I went to MacCulloch & Wallis in London and saw these rivets and buckles and thought that it would be awesome if I could use it to make a backpack. I was in dire need of a nice backpack that is not that big but easy to carry. I went back home empty handed that day but my brain went into overdrive and I was drawing and constructing the bag in my head. There were many different versions but eventually, I decided on a simple design but with a printed fabric as the feature.

Last Friday, I put my ideas into action and bought all sorts of material for the backpack. I have never made a backpack before so I experimented with materials that were available at the shop. I ended up with this super stiff Hessian fabric as the base, metres of leather straps, buckles and rivets. I decided to use the bird print fabric I bought a few weeks ago. This was because in my head, the bag looked like it came from the Victorian age and with the sketches of the birds, there was a bit of Darwinian feel to it.

After a day of banging in rivets and fighting with the sewing machine (due to the thickness of the fabric), I finally finished the bag and I am actually quite pleased with myself (apart from the prints not perfectly meeting in the front).

The back of the bag show a horizontal strap to act as a handle if I didn’t want to carry it on my back. The idea was based on a belt tied around books to keep them together when it is being carried.

The theory works but all that is required now is a test run so I am using this bag in London tomorrow. Fingers crossed that it will not fall apart!

I should get one of those proper devices to put in the rivets. And next time, I am experimenting with leather and chiffon. But till then, time to rest my extremely sore hands and fingers (I banged the hammer on my thumb a few times!).