Rainbow Toddler Backpack and Saying Goodbye to the Backpacks...

For those of you who know me personally, you'll know that I loved making toddler backpacks for my little ones (and for yours too!).  It all started with this backpack for #1.

It was so fun to make and so I began selling custom backpacks online.  When I started my ETSY shop 5 years ago, I didn't know where it would take me.  Would I be doing this for the long haul, or just while the kids were young so I could stretch my mental muscle?   However, as time has gone on and life has gotten busier, my ability to juggle my time and deliver a reasonable eta on the backpacks has been a challenge.

Over the last couple of years, I only worked on custom commissions in the hope that I could continue to sew my one of a kind backpacks. However, the true reality is that I can't juggle so many things at once and need to choose the activities that bring me and my family the most happiness. So I've decided to officially stop taking custom orders and will no longer be restocking my ETSY shop.  Thank you to all of you who have stopped by the blog and supported my online business.

My last custom backpack was earlier this year for a little girl who loves rainbows.  I made backpacks for her little brothers (this superhero one and these ones) and so it was her turn.  Her mom and I worked on the design.

Which then became this

And then became this... I made the clouds a little puffy

Like the bags for her brothers, she also got an initial at the back.

 
When I made this, I had a feeling it would be my last one so I took my time and enjoyed the process.

A shot of the back

The sides

View from above

She provided me with the fabric for the lining.  It was so nice to work with!

Love the initial

It can hold all of your Shopkins (and more)!

But really I'd rather put chocolate in there...

It's definitely the end of an era for my shop (for now).  I've enjoyed every minute of it and am so thankful to my customers and to the new friends I have made along the way. 

Until next time,

Superhero Toddler Backpack

Little people like superheroes.  Sometimes they like them cutesy.

Sometimes they like them not-so-cutesy. 

They go nuts when they see them in real life.  This is Brampton Batman!

So it totally made sense when I was asked to make a superhero backpack.

My friend Jess wanted a backpack for her youngest son to add to her collection of backpacks.   Last year I made these backpacks for her little guy and her nephew.   Here's a picture of one of the bags from this past summer.  What a cutie!

 
This time she wanted something superhero-like.  We agreed on the design.

Then got the final approval

This is the part of the backpack making process that I like the most... getting it already ready to be sewn!

Here is the finished product

Side pockets - great for waterbottles, napkins, and other tiny things. 

The lining

Inside out

Bottoms up!  The bottom is quilted for extra stability.

As always, I use real backpack connectors

I made this backpack early this year when we still had snow on the ground.  It is so hard to take pictures without a lot of natural light .  It is doubly hard to take pictures of black with red.   While it may look like the backpack is some shade of grey/black, it is indeed black denim.  These pics were all taken with my Samsung phone which somehow worked out better than my Canon.  Go figure.

Happy Sewing!

Duck Toddler Backpack in Mint

Introducing... a new design!  Shall we say "hello" or "quack"?

Way back in 2012, I made a grey owl toddler backpack for Sarah's daughter.  Fast forward to 2014 and she's got another little one who needs to have a backpack like her big sister.

I love new design time!  Sarah and I discussed what she wanted and I sketched out a design for her.  First we thought a white duck would be nice but I had a feeling there wouldn't be enough definition for the eyes.  Her sister had a grey owl so we thought maybe grey.  But then Sarah asked about doing a duck in mint and I was sold!  We've had so much snow since December that the thought of doing a bright duck felt very spring-like.

My inspiration?  Our bathtub rubber ducky

Here's a pic of us figuring out what colour the duck should be.  I did actually like the grey but there was something about the mint one.   One of my other customers suggested tan feet for her pink owl toddler backpack, so I incorporated it in this layout too.

We also discussed putting a wing on the duck as per my original design.  However, in the end, it was just a cleaner look to exclude it.

We also discussed "short feet" vs "tall feet".  Hubby suggested red rubber boots (I'll have to keep that in mind for the next one!).

There are elasticized pockets on each side.

Here's a pic of the back.   I used a dark brown piping, bias tape, zipper and webbing.

The quilted bottom

I found the lining a while ago and was waiting for the right backpack to use it on.

While I like the basic brown that I normally use, there's something very happy about this yellow lining. 

I would have loved to do some outdoor pictures but there's too much snow on the grass.  I guess the front porch will have to do...

More wishful thinking for spring weather.  (Couldn't find our yellow boots but Spiderman boots will do too!)

I'm crossing my fingers that ducky helps usher us into a nice spring.   We are ready for the warmer weather!

If you would like more information on my toddler backpacks, please view my 2014 Toddler Backpack FAQs.  However, if you know how to sew and would like to tackle this project (appliques are my designs), visit Made by Rae's website to purchase a PDF copy of the toddler backpack pattern.

Happy Sewing!