How to Make a Homemade Backpack Purse

A backpack purse is a wonderful accessory to have when you need both hands free while shopping or corralling small children. This homemade backpack purse is constructed using an old quilt, so shop local flea markets or thrift stores for quilts that have been well loved and are in need of a new life. The seams are left exposed on the outside, which gives the backpack purse a raggedy look, with the back of the quilt lining the inside.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Old cutter quilt 1/8 yard coordinating fabric Measuring tape Scissors Sewing machine Straight pins Marking pen 1/2 inch wide Velcro, 1 inch 1/4 inch wide cording, 40 inches Large safety pin

1. Measure and cut from the quilt two pieces 16 inches wide by 14 1/2 inches tall for the body, two pieces 6 inches square for the bag flap and front pocket, one piece 2 inches wide by 10 inches long for the handle loop, and two pieces 1 1/2 inches wide by 36 inches long for the straps. Measure and cut from the coordinating fabric one piece 4 inches wide by 30 inches long for the drawstring casing.

2. Place the two body pieces together with the wrong sides facing. Match the edges and position with the 16-inch sides running horizontally for the top and bottom edges of the backpack purse. Measure and cut a 2-inch square from each bottom corner of the body pieces, through both layers. Set one body piece aside. Pin the 6-inch pocket square 4 inches below the top edge and centered between the two sides of the other piece. The pocket will be right side up. This is the front of the backpack purse. Top stitch the pocket sides and bottom to the body front a 1/4 inch from the pocket edge.

3. Place the two-body piece back together with the wrong sides facing and matching the edges. Turn the pieces over with the back side up. Lay the straps vertically across the body with the right sides up. Pin one end of each strap, centered and spaced 4 inches apart on the bottom edge through both body pieces. Pin the sides and the bottom of the body together. Sew a 1/2 inch seam allowance on the sides and bottom of the body. This will attach the bottom pinned ends of the straps.

4. Open a cut-out square on one corner and match the side seam and the bottom seam together, and pin. Sew across the pinned edge using a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Repeat for the other cut-out square corner.

5. Place the backpack purse with the back side up. Overlap the free ends of the straps and pin them to the center top edge on the back of the body. Pin a short end of the handle loop with the right side up on each side of the overlapped pinned straps. Center and lay the 6-inch square purse flap right side down over the pinned straps and handle loop. Match one 6-inch side with the top edge of the backpack purse and pin.

6. Fold the casing strip in half lengthwise. Find the middle of the casing length. Pin the raw edges of the middle of the casing to the center top back edge of the purse. Continue to pin the raw edges of the casing length around the top edge of the backpack purse. You will have approximately a 3-inch gap on the front of the purse for threading the drawstring cording through. Sew around the top edge of the backpack purse through all pinned layers using a 1/2-inch seam allowance.

7. Fold the flap over the front of the purse. Make a mark under the center front edge of the flap and the matching spot on the front of the purse with the marking pen. Take the Velcro halves apart. Pin one piece over each pen mark, and top stitch in place for the purse closure.

8. Pin a safety pin to one end of the cording and thread through the casing. Each of the cording ends will extend from each end of the casing. Draw the backpack purse closed and tie the ends in a bow. Fold the flap over.

References

• Cyndee Kromminga, Craft and Interior Designer; Kro Crafts; Winfield, Kansas