A Lined Backpack– just for teens

Teaching teens to sew can be a challenge, because most teen girls want to sew clothing. As a teacher, I want them to be happy with what they’ve sewn. If they like what they’ve sewn, it motivates them to sew more and build on their skills. Clothing as a first project for teens most often doesn’t work well for a couple reasons.
1. the style they can master is not usually very stylish
2. clothing isn’t very forgiving and can look/fit awkwardly if not sewn precisely

Accessories are the perfect solution 🙂 There are several accessories that work well for beginning projects. With summer in mind, I designed this lined backpack for a class I teach locally. It’s a perfect first project for teens and adults, who are just starting out. And it pretty much always looks good and is something that gets used a lot by the sewist.

Another key to sewing success for teens and younger kids is fabric. Allowing kids and teens to choose the fabrics for themselves makes the project personal. They will be more likely to feel good about the project, as well as use it.

I used this brilliant fabric from RJR fabrics. It’s perfect for the sporty girl 🙂 The collection has soccer, softball, and cheerleading prints as well.

Through my etsy shop, a lot of people contact me wanting a lined drawstring backpack pattern, so I came up with one. It’s now worked out and available for purchase. My Cinchy Cinch Sack, which is an unlined drawstring bag, is still available and great for younger sewists to sew as one of their first projects. I will be teaching both bags this summer in a local sewing shop. It’s great to have choices!