Customizing a Convertible Backpack/Sling Bag

My first real backpack project...

Last week I posted about how to create a written tutorial out of a YouTube video, using a project from JSDaily's sewing channel as an example. (One other tip to pass along about the process, in case you weren't aware: if you find it difficult to pause a video at the right spot to capture an image, slow it down — you can select as low as quarter speed — by going into settings and selecting playback speed.)

Today I'll share with you some photos of the backpack that I ultimately made with that tutorial, with a few customizations.

I mentioned that I made one change based on fabric. I only had one fat quarter of this "linen" from Dollarama, meaning that while it was wide enough, after splitting it into two, it wasn't long enough for the main portion. Therefore I had to use more of the bottom contrast fabric (which was the curtain fabric last seen on my Oriole Bag).

Here is the reason for my taking on this project... the split zippered strap

The other significant change that I made was to the exterior pockets. While I like the look of the angled zippered pockets, I've made them a few times before and these ones seemed too small. So I opted for a large horizontal pocket instead.

Bag arranged with front edge folded up, revealing the exterior pocket.

Having not made the diagonal pockets, I will say that the advantage of them would be that they are accessible with the bag folded down, whereas my horizontal pocket is entirely hidden. (Although I suppose whether that might actually be preferable depends on need for security.)

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The bag made during the tutorial featured some unusual hardware fasteners. They were nothing that I had ever encountered in my trips to the sewing aisle of Walmart, so I made do with what I had, which was hook and loop tape, a lobster clasp, a couple of D rings with fabric anchors, and rivets.

My straps anchored to the bottom of the bag in a more traditional way...

Luckily I did have some continuous black (#5) zipper tape and some zippy zipper pulls to add bling. (Do you like installing zipper pulls? Me, not so much. I haven't done enough of them to be confident about achieving success without doing damage to the zipper teeth, but I did learn a new trick to make it totally easier next time.)

Inside of the front zippered pocket...

While the linen fabric has a directional print, it's not obviously apparent. I would suggest that you choose something without a directional print, considering how the bag is contorted into its final shape and can be used with a corner of it folded up or down.

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The inside lining features a zippered pocket as well, but when all was said and done, I would have preferred it to be located a couple of inches lower. It's currently positioned near the top "pointy" area that makes it harder to access.

View of the interior...

A lobster clasp attached to a "mini strap" made out of fabric sits at the top of the bag. When the zipper is closed, the clasp can be hooked to the zipper head to hold the triangular ends of the bag together (i.e., the "front edge folded up" look).

Hook clasps on to top of zipper pull...

Because I had more of the solid contrast fabric at the bottom than called for in the original pattern, I wanted to add something to that area to jazz it up. With my scraps of linen, I made a hot air balloon shaped applique and glued it on.

My "hot air balloon" applique has a hook and loop tape "basket"...

Then — realizing that I needed to have a solution for the how to keep the "flap" secured when in the down position — I cut some square pieces of hook and loop tape and had one of them act as the hot air balloon "basket".

My last bit of modification comes in the form of adding some buttons to the front zipper area. (I had recently taken out my button collection for another purpose and saw that I had several in this colour.)

So as I come to the picture that shows the scale of this bag, am I alone in thinking that it is rather large??

For an idea of scale...

At its widest point, it's fifteen inches (38cm). It's more or less also that "tall", so it's a squarish sort of bag. Not my preferred look, but on the other hand, I don't have this type of bigger bag that can be used to tote a light sweater or jacket, and this one meets that criteria completely.

In any case, the inside lining has still not been sewn up. If I want to make even more changes, I still can. ;-)

A matching lip balm holder made out of the linen scraps...

A few days later, I went back to the scraps of linen and interfacing and found enough to make one of my 5 minute lip balm carriers. The linen frays terribly but I interfaced it with some SF101 and then zigzagged the raw edges.

Scrapbooking brads...

The little Paris Eiffel Tower embellishment is actually a scrapbooking brad from a package that I picked up last month at a discount store for $1.25. They reminded me of Tim Holtz's Eclectic Elements fabric, so I had to have them, even with not knowing what they might ultimately be used for... any ideas?