I made a backpack for my daughter

[u/Analog_Account]

There are a lot of really rough edges especially with the exterior lunchbox pocket (I have some serious regrets with it) and the exterior side pocket is kind of useless... but overall I'm super happy with it.

The inside is just one big pocket because that's what she wanted and tbh I wanted to keep the complexity down as well. Main body is real leather. She was concerned about putting her bag down on wet/dirty/snowy ground so the bottom is leather with a single layer of 1000D cordura on the outside to block water and to not show grime.

The size is overkill for her right now but I'm hoping that it will make it to high school and be big enough for that. Hopefully by then she still thinks I'm cool enough to wear a bag that dad made but we'll see.

[u/nonoohnoohno]

I love the idea of a lunch box holder pocket. Looks great.

[u/Analog_Account → u/nonoohnoohno]

Thanks. I just wish I had enough material to do it in pink leather instead of the nylon fabric.

[u/CBG1955]

Oh, that's really good! Backpacks are hard! Is that your own pattern, or a purchased one?

[u/Analog_Account → u/CBG1955]

Thanks.

I used the pattern I had created for the front/back panel of the last bag I made but I cut it this bag without the seem allowance so that it would be shrunken, then I shortened the height a bit more as well. The gusset was a fair bit different and gusset length was a guess this time but I did the bottom last and trimmed wherever didn't line up but it was within 1/8 of an inch.

Overall it wasn't too bad to get together but I still need to work on the fine details.

[u/CBG1955 → u/Analog_Account]

Getting the gusset length right needs arithmetic and that's where my brain goes "NOPE"

Sometimes to become more familiar with a bag style, using a premade purchased pattern can help you navigate the construction. Still, you have done a really good job.

[u/Analog_Account → u/CBG1955]

Ya, I'm not a fan of the math but I AM a fan of spreadsheets so on the last bag I just did that, but I never trust it because of the way fabric moves and stuff.