Back Pack

[bigfoot]

Backpack Plan



Materials Needed

Fabric - 2 square yards should be plenty
(2) ¾" D rings
(6) 1¼" D rings
Thread for sewing (obviously)
...that's it!

Preparation

First, cut your material to 44" x 15½". Then hem along the perimeter. (This size allows ¾" along each side for hemming - after hemming, dimensions will be 42½" x 14".)



Straps & Loops

Before going any further, it's a good idea to make up some straps - here's how they're done.

You'll need to make straps in the following sizes:

(2) ½"W x 2"L straps
(2) 1"W x 4"L straps
(2) 1"W x 5"L straps
(2) 1"W x 11¾"L straps
(2) 1"W x 19"L straps
(2) 1"W x 30"L straps
(2) 1¾"W x 20"L straps

To make the straps, cut the fabric the required length, but for the width cut them 4 times as wide as the finished width. For example, to make ½" wide straps, cut the fabric 2" wide; to make 1" wide straps, cut it 4" wide.

Now, fold to the halfway point, then fold again. You'll see that the strap is now the desired width and since it's four layers thick it will be durable and stiff. By doing it this way, you also don't have to hem them! Now sew around the entire perimeter (you might think 3 sides are enough, but it's stiffer when sewed around all four sides).

(For the 1¾" straps, I used existing straps that were already that size - if you don't have any like that, you can make your own in the same technique as the other straps.)



In case it helps, here's a closeup photo of the finished strap. The stitching is just barely visible (click on it to enlarge):



Putting it Together

Insert the two ½" wide straps through the two ¾" D rings (one strap through each D ring), fold over and sew.
Insert the two 1" x 5" straps through two 1¼" D rings (one strap through each D ring), fold over and sew.

Now, fold the material 26" from the top, such that the hems are on the outside - so it's still inside-out. Now, place the straps with D rings facing inward, the small ones 12" from the top and the large ones 23" from the top. It's ok if the straps stick out some - the main thing is to keep the D rings as close to the seam as possible, within reason (about ½" away works fine). Sew the sides together, and as you do so the straps holding the D rings get sewed on in the process.



Reinforce the 1" straps at the bottom that are holding the large D rings, by sewing them to the back of the pack.



At this point, it should look something like this (click on it to enlarge):



To give the pack some shape and depth, take the fold at the bottom and sew across at the two corners, 1½" from the corners, as shown.



Here's a photo for you:



Shoulder Straps

The pack doesn't need to be inside out any more, so go ahead and turn it the correct way.

Attach the shoulder straps (the 1¾" wide straps) as shown:



The 1" x 4" strap and two of the 1¼" D rings complete the upper shoulder strap. Here's a closeup:



The long 1" x 30" straps attach to the large D rings on the pack as shown:



Here's an overview photo of the shoulder straps. (For now, you can ignore the other straps on the right that you see sewn on to the pack.)



Straps for Blanket

The 11¾" long straps attach to the front of the pack as shown. Notice that the stitching ends at the bottom of the pack adjacent to the shoulder strap attachment. The attachment area is about 2" long.



The 19" long straps attach to the back of the pack opposite to the other straps.

Here's how it looks all finished:



Note: I tapered the 19" long straps to make them easier to go through the D rings. You can see here how I did it:



If you were to turn the pack inside out now, you would see where the straps were sewn on:



Tie-Downs for Cover

The tie-downs are attached to the cover of the pack that folds over. First, small pieces of fabric are sewed on to reinforce the area. Then a button-hole stitch where the lace will go through and the hole is cut. Photos from the inside (left) and from the outside (right):



One last photo featuring the tie-downs:



Hope this helps in designing your own pack. I don't claim that this is anywhere near perfect - it's my first try - but it's a start, and it was fun to watch it transform into something useful!

[Red Badger]

Great directions and Pictures,

thanks for shareing

[DMShook]

got some sail cloth that would be perfect for that......hhhhhhhhmmmmmm

[William]

Thanks for posting this!

[NW Wildman]

nice backpack patterns

[William]

Anyone made their own from these plans yet?

[hungryjohn]

Great design. Simple yet functional.

[Watauga]

Cool!Thanks for posting this!

[William]

Some additional plans that I found;
http://www.nwta.com/patterns/pdfs/471Knapsack.pdf

[William]

Some additional plans that I found;
http://www.nwta.com/patterns/pdfs/471Knapsack.pdf

[crazell]

Seems simple and easy to make. Thanks for the step by step instructions..

[texasranger]

thanks good plans and a good looking pack

[Hammerhead]

i will be attempting this this weekend