Begonia Drawstring Backpack

Hello!

I’m so excited to be writing this post about the Begonia Drawstring Backpack from Blue Calla Patterns. I like all of Celine’s patterns but this one is great if you’re just getting started with bag making. There is no hardware involved and as far as notions, you need two zippers or zipper tape so you can cut your own zippers to length.

I didn’t time myself but we finished dinner about 5:30 pm and I started about 6 pm because I’ve lost my zipper bag. Still didn’t find it but I had a white double pull zipper hanging around so I was able to split it into the two zippers I needed. I finished the construction of the bag around 8:30 pm. I didn’t continue on with the straps because my back was bothering me.

You can make this pattern using all quilting cotton or cork or vinyl for the contrast bottom. I wanted to try out the pattern first before I cut into my cork just to make sure I didn’t make a mistake. I have some black, red, and natural cork so I’m looking forward to pairing those up with fabrics and making more backpacks. I pulled out the cute chicken fabric for the exterior of this bag and I thought the red gingham was a cute contrast to the chickens.

The instructions were clear and the accompanying videos on YouTube made the construction that much smoother. Celine almost always includes a cutting chart at the beginning of her patterns so there’s no confusion. One thing I would change would be to have a zipper pocket on the interior but that’s something I can easily add in so I may do it on my next one. Here’s some pictures of the bag including the interior. Sorry or the low light pictures. It’s dark out and I still need to do something about the lighting in my sewing area.