Sew Sturdy: The Essential Backpack

Class Preview

Stay hands-free and organized with a backpack you sew yourself. Join designer Annie Unrein as she guides you step by step through creating a stylish, durable and professional-quality backpack with pockets, zippered compartments, a magnetic flap and more.

Quilting & Cutting the Fabric

Meet Annie and get started by reviewing the various features of your backpack. You’ll get tips on choosing the right fabrics, stabilizer and zippers, as well as on quilting, cutting and labeling your bag pieces.

Handle, Straps & Flap

Start your backpack by cutting and joining bias binding strips. Find out how to sew a padded handle, straps and strap tabs, as well as a front flap with a magnetic snap.

Pockets

Make your backpack super-functional by creating pockets! You’ll learn to make slip pockets for credit cards, a zippered quilted pocket and a zippered mesh pocket.

Zipper Strips & Side Strip

Insert the double-slide zipper into your backpack’s zipper strips. Annie shows you how to shape and attach the zipper strip to the side strip to create the side area of your backpack.

Backpack Front & Back

In this lesson you’ll complete the front and back panels of your backpack by adding all of your interior and exterior pockets. Then Annie demonstrates how to shape the corners for professional results.

Completing the Backpack

End class by assembling the front, back and sides of your backpack. You’ll see how to sew and bind the inner seams using bias binding, and how to properly assemble and adjust your straps. Polish it up by adding zipper pulls.