BagyBagsBackpack with To Grandmother’s House

It’s Sara Brown from @SaraBQuilts and I am here to show you the whimsical backpack I made with Jennifer Long’s new collection, To Grandmother’s House, by Riley Blake Designs! The moment I saw the To Grandmother’s House collection of fabrics I knew I needed to make a backpack to hold my sons’ books for our visits to the library! The Classic Backpack by BagyBags was the perfect pattern to show off the adorable prints of the To Grandmother’s House collection! You can purchase this pattern here at BagyBags Etsy shop.

As a fan of appliqué and English Paper Piecing, I am used to fussy cutting fabric and highlighting little details. To Grandmother’s House is the perfect collection to play with fussy cuts and little details, especially the Through the Woods fabric pictured above right. There are so many opportunities to highlight sweet, little illustrations with this collection, so I chose to make the body of the backpack a collection of patchwork squares.

For the backpack flap, I wanted to add Liza Taylor Handmade’s Missouri Star Foundation Paper Pieced pattern to show off the adorable wolf. You can find the Missouri Star pattern here at the Liza Taylor Handmade shop. There is a wonderful gradient to the pinks, reds, greens, and pewters in this collection, allowing you to really play with the colors and the depths they create!

As for most bags I make, I chose to use cotton batting instead of interfacing to give the backpack a softer and more substantial feel to it. Natural cotton webbing and molasses brown leather straps complimented the To Grandmother’s House collection, while the gold rivets and antique brass hardware added to the charm. The Bit of Berries fabric in Pewter is a beautiful, subtle color and was a wonderful lining and backing choice.

I am so pleased with this backpack and think it is perfect for toting around books, teddy bears, or whatever else your child collects for their next adventure! I know my boys will be fighting over who gets to use it! I hope you enjoy exploring the cute fairytale prints of To Grandmother’s House as much as I do! I am excited to see what you make!

Until next time!

Sara Brown (@sarabquilts)