Just love a stylish backpack!
If you’re after a unique and sophisticated bag than you can never go wrong with a Noodlehead pattern! And the Buckthorn Backpack and Tote pattern ticks all the boxes. I love that you get two different types of bags to make. The hardest choice is trying to work out which one to make first.
Anna Graham – Noodlehead – is my favourite bag designer! If you haven’t checked out her patterns before I can highly recommend. She has a lovely range of patterns and tutorials. You’re bound to find something you want to make (like her Mini Minimalist Wallet). Anna’s pattern’s always include nice clear instructions with graphics to assist. And now she also includes both Imperial and Metric measurements – giving you even more choice.
The Buckthorn Backpack and Tote pattern is aimed at an intermediate bag maker and I would agree. Even though Anna has a free sew-along and video tutorials for this pattern there are some very difficult steps. Like setting the oval base on the bottom or attaching the bias binding at the top. Of course the bias binding (again) became my nemesis!
For some reason whenever it comes to bias binding I’m never happy with the result. And it became one of the biggest challenges of this pattern. I think I was even more frustrated because it’s the very last step. Either way, after a few failed attempts, I decided to leave finishing the bag to the following day.
This tactic worked and I was able to finish the binding and the bag! In the end I used my walking foot and it was a saviour. I’m still not a 100% happy as some of the stitching is a bit wonky (it’s ok if you don’t look too close). But I’m certainly happy enough that I don’t want to attempt it again!
One of the things that makes this last step the hardest is the zipper. You’ve got to make sure the zipper is bent out of the way nicely when sewing the bias binding. My advice is use your walking foot and sew slowly. Make sure you’ve ironed the binding really well. And cut off a bit of the seam allowance as it helps the binding sit better.
All in all I’m pretty happy with the end result! I absolutely love the exterior fabric that I chose and the dark blue lining goes perfectly. The Buckthorn Backpack is also very practical with lots of room to fit everything I need. I have to hand it to Anna – because she has made a very stylish bag indeed!
