5 years ago
Even though I’ve been sewing pretty consistently since 2018, I’ve mostly stuck with sewing garments. Bag making is still new territory for me and, though I really love accessories, I’ve only made a few bag patterns this entire time. Of the bags I’ve made, I’ve really enjoyed the process of sewing something from 2D to 3D which is quite different from sewing a garment.
The Desmond Backpack is a roll top backpack pattern from Taylor Tailor. I’ve had this pattern for a couple of years now and was hoping to get to it at some point. I'm so glad I finally did. To me, this bag is the perfect travel bag and I could really see myself using this as my regular carry-on or in place of rolling luggage for short trips. With travel on the horizon again, I couldn’t wait to finally tackle this bag.
One of the most intimidating parts of bag making to me is sourcing all the hardware. Luckily, I planned for this bag ahead of time so I had time to order my supplies online and managed to find everything I needed from one shop. I almost changed my mind last minute, per usual, but I kept going with my original idea and the supplies I ordered matched perfectly. For this roll top pattern, you only need one zipper for the front pocket which is pretty nice if zippers make things more intimidating for you.
The pattern and instructions themselves are very easy to comprehend. The online sew along (which I discovered several steps in) are also great resources. Although I didn’t have any problems understanding the pattern instructions and illustrations, I found the sew along pictures quite helpful and enjoyed referring back to them to make sure I was doing everything correctly. I only made one mistake whilst making this (I accidentally cut both top corners of the straps rather than one), but my over eagerness was thankfully hidden in the seam allowances.
The only time I strayed from the pattern was to follow the tip to add batting to the straps. Depending on what you use this bag for, I could easily see it being worthwhile to add even more padding (or even drafting some contoured straps) for longer/heavier wear. I personally can’t handle a heavy pack for too long anyway, but figured I’d appreciate the added batting. I only had light batting on hand so that’s what I used. It doesn’t add much padding to the straps, but it does make it feel slightly more substantial. Adding the batting does make it more difficult to turn the straps, but I would say it’s worth the trouble. If you’re adding heavier weight batting, be prepared for a higher difficulty in turning.
As far as fabric goes, I used this cotton canvas from Art Gallery Fabrics for the exterior and a solid quilting cotton for the interior. I used medium weight interfacing on the interior fabric, per pattern suggestions, to give it a bit more structure and I’m glad I did. The exterior fabric weight is slightly less than the pattern suggestion and having that extra interfacing helps make the bag less floppy and makes the interior pockets much sturdier. One thing I wish I’d done was double line the interior pockets. I didn’t think about it at the time, but double lining the pockets would’ve hidden the interfacing on the inside of the pockets. As of right now, the interfacing is exposed on the inside of the pockets which I could see becoming more inconvenient with further use.
The label I decided to add to this backpack is one from my shop: This is the Way. I felt like the pattern of the fabric and the Star Wars vibes of the tag were a perfect match. I hand sewed the label on and I love how it looks!
This bag was a really fun make and I’m so glad I went through with my original plan. I can’t wait to put it to more use!
For more pictures, be sure to check out my blog and find me on Instagram. Thanks for reading!
The Desmond Backpack is a roll top backpack pattern from Taylor Tailor. I’ve had this pattern for a couple of years now and was hoping to get to it at some point. I'm so glad I finally did. To me, this bag is the perfect travel bag and I could really see myself using this as my regular carry-on or in place of rolling luggage for short trips. With travel on the horizon again, I couldn’t wait to finally tackle this bag.
One of the most intimidating parts of bag making to me is sourcing all the hardware. Luckily, I planned for this bag ahead of time so I had time to order my supplies online and managed to find everything I needed from one shop. I almost changed my mind last minute, per usual, but I kept going with my original idea and the supplies I ordered matched perfectly. For this roll top pattern, you only need one zipper for the front pocket which is pretty nice if zippers make things more intimidating for you.
The pattern and instructions themselves are very easy to comprehend. The online sew along (which I discovered several steps in) are also great resources. Although I didn’t have any problems understanding the pattern instructions and illustrations, I found the sew along pictures quite helpful and enjoyed referring back to them to make sure I was doing everything correctly. I only made one mistake whilst making this (I accidentally cut both top corners of the straps rather than one), but my over eagerness was thankfully hidden in the seam allowances.
The only time I strayed from the pattern was to follow the tip to add batting to the straps. Depending on what you use this bag for, I could easily see it being worthwhile to add even more padding (or even drafting some contoured straps) for longer/heavier wear. I personally can’t handle a heavy pack for too long anyway, but figured I’d appreciate the added batting. I only had light batting on hand so that’s what I used. It doesn’t add much padding to the straps, but it does make it feel slightly more substantial. Adding the batting does make it more difficult to turn the straps, but I would say it’s worth the trouble. If you’re adding heavier weight batting, be prepared for a higher difficulty in turning.
As far as fabric goes, I used this cotton canvas from Art Gallery Fabrics for the exterior and a solid quilting cotton for the interior. I used medium weight interfacing on the interior fabric, per pattern suggestions, to give it a bit more structure and I’m glad I did. The exterior fabric weight is slightly less than the pattern suggestion and having that extra interfacing helps make the bag less floppy and makes the interior pockets much sturdier. One thing I wish I’d done was double line the interior pockets. I didn’t think about it at the time, but double lining the pockets would’ve hidden the interfacing on the inside of the pockets. As of right now, the interfacing is exposed on the inside of the pockets which I could see becoming more inconvenient with further use.
The label I decided to add to this backpack is one from my shop: This is the Way. I felt like the pattern of the fabric and the Star Wars vibes of the tag were a perfect match. I hand sewed the label on and I love how it looks!
This bag was a really fun make and I’m so glad I went through with my original plan. I can’t wait to put it to more use!
For more pictures, be sure to check out my blog and find me on Instagram. Thanks for reading!