Here’s an easy sewing project for kids.  This adorable Owl backpack is perfect for a trip to the pool or to the library.  It’s just the right size to take to the pool - plenty of room for a towel, sunscreen, flip flops, sunglasses, and a snack.  Or, take it to the library on a hot day and bring your books home.  It’s also the perfect size to use if you are going to a friend’s house for a sleepover.  We made our owl blue, but you can make your owl out of your favorite colors.

 

 

What you'll need:

• 40” x 18” piece of canvas or outdoor fabric

• 133” of cording or rope

• Craft foam sheets or Felt

• Hot glue ( get an adult to help with the glue)                                                     

• Scissors

• Black permanent marker

• Small ribbon for the bow

• Sewing machine

• Iron

• Safety pin

• Owl Pattern

Note: This is a simple sewing project but, use supervision whenever using an iron or hot glue.

 

How to make it:

1. Start with a 40 x 18” piece of canvas or outdoor fabric.

2. Along the 40” sides, fold the fabric over 1” – iron the fold, pin in place, and use a straight stitch to sew down both sides.

3. Next, fold over each short end 1” – iron the fold, pin in place, and sew down both sides.

4. Fold the same two short ends over 1 ½” – iron the fold, pin in place and sew down both sides close to the edge of the first fold creating a tube.

5. Take your fabric and fold it in half, ironing the center fold.  Set your fabric aside and cut out all the pieces for your owl from felt or craft foam.

6. Once you have all your pieces cut out, use hot glue to attach the wing pieces and feet to your owl body.  

7. Take your fabric and decide which side will be the front of your backpack.  Lay the fabric on a flat surface and center your owl body on the backpack front being careful not to put your owl past the crease you made with the iron indicating the center of the bag.  If you would like to create a small front pocket on the front of your backpack, continue to step 8.  If you do not want the owl to be a pocket, use hot glue to attach your owl to the backpack.  (Make sure you put a piece of cardboard between the inside of the fabric and the table to prevent any hot glue that soaks through your fabric from damaging your tabletop.

8. To create a pocket:  Pin your owl in place. Carefully stitch your owl body to the backpack starting at one ear, backstitching, and continue around to the other ear, backstitching.

9. Take all of your feather pieces and attach them to the owl tummy with hot glue.  You may have to trim an edge from the two end feathers on the top row to fit them on the tummy piece.  Once you have all your feathers attached to your tummy piece, glue the tummy to the owl body.

10. Use a black permanent marker to create a pupil on each eyepiece, or cut two pupil pieces from black craft foam and attach them with hot glue to your eye whites, then, glue the eyes to the owl face.

11. Attach the yellow beak to the owl face below the eyes with hot glue.

12. Last, tie a cute bow from your choice of ribbon and glue it to the top of the belly piece. That’s it for the owl.

13. To finish making the bag:  Fold your fabric together with the right sides together pinning the edges together along the long edges.

14. Next, cut two 7” sections of your rope or cording. We are going to create 2 loops at the bottom of the backpack where we can attach the backpack straps.  Starting at the bottom of the backpack at the fold line, tuck the looped end of one 7 inch piece into the backpack with the ends of the cording sticking out about ¼ inch. Pin the rope in place.  Repeat this for the other side of the backpack.

15. Using a zig-zag stitch, sew the cording into place.  Continue up the side of the bag once past the cording with a straight stitch until you get to the beginning of the tube you formed at the top of the bag.  Do not sew to the top edge of the bag.  Backstitch just before the top tube of the bag.   Repeat this with the other side of the bag, attaching the loop, stitching it into place, and sewing up the side of the bag just shy of the tube at the top.  Turn your bag right side out.  You now should have two loops of cording at the bottom of your bag.

16. Take the remainder of your cording and cut two lengths of 63”.  Attach your safety pin to one end of one of the lengths of the cording.  Attaching a safety pin will allow you to move your cording through the tube at the top more easily.   We are now going to run our cording through the tube at the top of the backpack. 

17. Starting on one side of the backpack, insert the first section of cording, safety pin first and run it all the way through one side of the tube on one side and then through the other tube on the opposite side of the bag.  You should now have your two ends both coming out the same side of the bag.

18. Remove the safety pin from the first length of the cording and attach it to one end of the other length of the cording.  On the opposite side of the bag where the center of the first length of cording should be, insert your second length of cording into the tube at the top safety pin first, and run it through one side of the tubing at the top, out the other end and back toward the other end of the bag.

19. You should now have two sets of cording with the beginnings and the ends of each going through the top of the bag and coming out on the same side. 

20. To attach the straps to the bottom loops:  Gather the two ends of one set of cording, and run one end through the loop at the bottom on the same side of the bag.  Gather the two ends together and tie a knot.  Repeat this for the other side of the bag and you are done.  Now you have a super cool owl backpack that will be great to take to the library, the pool, or for a sleepover.