I had been thinking that I need to reintroduce the backpack into my life when Sara from Radiant Home Studio asked me to join her 2nd Birthday Celebration blog tour. Of course, I jumped at the chance to try out her Retro Rucksack pattern and I’m so glad I did. The Retro Rucksack is a backpack/satchel combo. Sling the straps over your shoulders and you have a backpack. Or, grab the handle at the top and it will lengthen into a single strap satchel style bag. The bag features two interior pockets, two side pockets and a recessed zipper at the top. Click through to see lots of pics!

I really enjoyed taking a break from my garment making and practice some different skills with this bag. I used a heavy, non-stretch denim that I found in a bargain bin in downtown LA. I wanted a heavy duty fabric and a classic look so this denim was the answer. I used a jeans needle to stitch the seams and do the topstitching. It worked well and handled the denim plus interfacing quite well. All the topstitching made me feel more confident that I could actually sew my own jeans someday. They’re intimidating to me the same way sewing bras are but I think I might be able to work up to it. :)

The pattern has instructions for using contrasting fabric on the exterior but I decided to only use the denim for a cleaner look. The lining is a blue and white stripe that’s almost like seersucker. It’s another bargain bin fabric that I think is a cotton/poly blend. It has a nice weight to it. In fact, I also used the lining fabric to make the dress which you can find out more about here.

I ordered the hardware from Emmaline Bags. The pattern calls for a mix of 1” and 1.5” hardware but I accidentally bought all 1.5” which worked just fine. For the straps, I used a pre-purchased 1.5 inch cotton webbing. I really like the look of the cotton webbing. I think it gives it a more professional look and saved some time from making my own. I really love the sliders on the straps so that the length can be adjusted.

Scroll through the photos above to see pics of all the sides and pockets. This is a great project to make as a gift for the holidays or just for yourself anytime of year. If you're interested in buying the pattern, see below for a discount code good until 12/11/15. And be sure to check out all the other lovely sewists on the blog tour (also below).