Damian's Dino Backpack

 

I've been the rounds with Craftsy. I started with them back when they were Craftsy the first time. Then went through their Bluprint period and am currently a premium member of Craftsy. During one of their sales, I purchased the DVD for The Essential Backpack by Annie Unrein. And I planned to make it - eventually. Well, that time finally arrived when I decided to make one for my grandson for his birthday. I already had the dinosaur fabric - different from the fabric I used for his laptop carrier bag. So, it would coordinate, but wouldn't be identical, though I used the same contrast fabric. 
When I quilted the fabric for the laptop bag, I realized a few things. The first was that it wasn't necessarily necessary to quilt all of the fabric. I ended up with so much leftover quilted fabric that I was able to make Damian this bag for his headset,

and I still have quite a bit left. I think Annie has some ideas for smaller projects you can use the leftovers in. I will have to look those up when I have time for another unplanned project, in between other projects. 
The second thing was that I think the quilting should be a little denser and the third is that it really is a waste of time to use a pantograph for the quilting. I used Dave's Dinosaurs to quilt the laptop bag, but it was a wasted effort. The pieces cut are so small and layered on top of each other, that it's not really evident that I quilted it with dinosaurs. So, I tackled both of these things (denser quilting and not wasting my time doing a pantograph) by doing a basic free motion meander - something I don't normally do, since I consider myself the pantograph queen. And I only quilted the fabric I needed so I have much less quilted leftovers. 
Annie's instructions are very straightforward and detailed, plus I had the advantage of owning the DVD and/or watching it on Craftsy. 

Front pocket flap with sewn-in magnet

There is lots of work involved in making a bag, a lot more detail than just my basic tote bags. And I learned new things, like how to sew in magnets for closures. 

Backpack front and back

The Brain Docs say that in order to stay cognitively sharp, we should constantly seek to learn something new and challenge our brains daily with complex tasks. I think this type of bag making can fulfill both tasks. 😀

Inside of front and back, showing inside pockets

I had to review how to make my own zippers from zippers by the yard. 

Card pockets inside the front pocket

I can't say that bagmaking is my favourite activity. It's pretty labour-intensive and can be pretty challenging, especially stitching the multiple, multiple layers together. But the sense of satisfaction when you have created a relatively professional-looking bag, makes the labour worthwhile.
This is not a full-sized backpack, but, as my daughter pointed out, my grandson can carry his library books in it. And it appears to have been a hit since he left my hourse wearing it on his back.
I have plans to make one for my daughter and one for myself. Especially since this backpack would also make a good purse substitute.