Easy-to-sew back-to-school bags for kids
Even if the vacations are still in full swing, it’s never too early to start thinking about back-to-school sewing!
If you’re looking for a quick and easy project, why not sew a back-to-school bag for your children, whether they’re off to nursery school or kindergarten?
Here are a few sewing ideas, which can also be used to sew them a bag for vacations or weekend adventures!
A lightweight backpack for little ones
A backpack is a good option for children attending nursery or kindergarten who don’t have much to carry.
You’ll need to use a fairly hard-wearing fabric, such as thick cotton, pretty velvet, canvas… You can choose them already printed or play with alternating colors. Or personalize the pieces, preferably before sewing them together. Add patches, embroider a first name or motif, sew bows or animal ears… let your creativity run wild!
We recommend that you always line your bags with a cotton lining (or coated cotton for easier dirt removal) and fusible fleece, which you can choose to be more or less rigid and thicker or thinner. This not only gives the bag extra hold, but also makes it softer and more pleasant for children to wear!
To sew a pretty rectangular backpack, we follow Snaply Magazine’s free pattern, designed by Sarah from Atelier Miinsa. In addition to its practical shape and size, this bag is highly customizable. On the pattern, you can choose to make a bag with a little bow or a bag with bear ears. But you can easily make it your own and add whatever elements you like.
If you’re not afraid of adding a clasp, you can follow Les bobines d’Eme’s video tutorial. It shows you how to sew a lovely backpack with imitation leather, cotton lining and double cotton gauze.
A drawstring bag
The drawstring bag is a quick and easy project to sew. It’s accessible to beginners, and provides a functional, lightweight bag. It will be very practical for carrying spares.
To sew it, all you need is a fairly dry fabric (cotton, linen, double gauze, coated cotton…) and some cords to act as both straps and clasps. You can easily find them at haberdasheries or on the Internet by searching for “cord” or “cordelette”. Once again, this project can be customized according to your desires. It will look very different depending on the fabric you use. You can also embroider it, add flat areas of fabric to make shapes…
To sew a drawstring bag, follow our home-made tutorial.
For ideas on personalization, take a look at Lucatine couture’s tutorial. It uses several fabrics (one printed and one plain) and gold piping.
first schoolbag for toddlers
For younger children who’d like a schoolbag like the grown-ups, there are easily available smaller, lighter sewing equivalents.
Here again, choose a fairly firm fabric, such as cotton twill. If your fabric is too soft and supple, you can stiffen it with thick fusible interfacing or batting.
You can follow our tutorial for a cotton twill satchel, lined with a finer cotton and personalized with a sequined iron-on fabric.
Jane Emilie’s satchel tutorial suggests making an easy-to-sew satchel with pink canvas and floral fabric. You can, of course, adapt it to your own tastes, using suedette for example.
For this pattern, you’ll need to learn how to place a buckle on a strap and attach a special binder clasp. Nothing too complicated: instructions are provided with the supplies. All you need is a little patience!
What are you going to sew for back-to-school? Have you ever sewn bags for children?
