Monday, July 9, 2012

The Hated Backpack





Things are so very hit or miss with K. I haven't quite worked out the formula for what he likes/hates. To be honest, I just don't get it.

I recently wrote a post about our upcoming trip to Fuji Rock and some pants I made for K for the occasion. He loved those pants from the first time he laid eyes on them. He still loves them. Total success!!

On Saturday night, I finished up a backpack also intended for Fuji Rock. He hates it. Total failure.




All excited, I showed it to him on Sunday morning and he literally ran away screaming. I have yet to actually get it on him. I'm so bummed!!

I'm bummed that I spent all the time making it. I'm bummed that I love it and he hates it. But most of all, I'm bummed because I know that if he would actually put it on, he would love it.

He has a number of bags, but they always fall off of his (nonexistent) shoulders, leaving him immobile and annoyed with a bag of toys around his legs. I have all the confidence in the world that this wouldn't happen with the backpack.

Boooo for stubborn kids!!!

It really is super cool. The inside is done in leftover linen from his pants, with bright orange bias tape to add a bit of character and the outside in some great Mexican woven fabric.




I cannot tell you how sick I think this bag is. I love the Mexican fabric on the outside and the orange on the inside. The one thing I wish could be different is the zipper. I really wanted a bright zipper as well, but the only colors they had were quite boring.




I got the pattern for the backpack from my best friend, who made an adorable one for her son. It looked a bit daunting, but I really thought it would be great for K. As she promised, it turned out to be quite simple. The few challenges were sewing through that many layers of twill tape and fabric, as well as getting the bias tape to cover all the edges inside, as some are quite thick.




Seriously, I love the backpack and I'm hoping that if I keep pushing it, he might start to use it. It will certainly be coming to Fuji Rock with us. Fingers crossed I don't have to hold it the whole time!!

On a different note, I don't have a serger, so most people recommend zigzagging the fabric edges to prevent fraying. I sometimes do this, sometimes don't. I totally learned my lesson with this fabric! It has really thick strands and was woven very loosely, and it totally started to come apart on me. Whoops!!




After realizing this, all my edges got zigzagged. We will see what happens with my next project.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

4 comments:

  1. Sell these on Etsy, market in San Francisco. You will be rich!!

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    1. Haha, thanks Em! I have a list about a mile long of things I want to make though, both for us and as gifts (need anything??). If I run out at some point, I may just turn to Etsy!!

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  2. Maybe he would be more excited about it if one of his toys, or maybe a new surprise, were waiting for him inside of it? :)

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    1. Candice, that's exactly what I was thinking. We need a few new toys for the plane ride to the festival and I think a few FOR the festival would be good as well. I might try to pull a "if you want the toys, you gotta bring the bag," kind of thing.

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