Hello, my crafty friends!!! How are you doing?
It is an exciting day here, at the Allsewpetite office (read kitchen table), because I am releasing my new sewing pattern, the McFly backpack!!! It took me way too long to finalize the construction, but I wanted to make a backpack pattern without binding because I know how much some of you hate it. I am happy to report that I succeeded 😉, and to make things even more interesting, the pattern comes in two sizes because I HEARD when you asked for a smaller, child-size backpack!
After countless prototypes, not really, 5 or 6 porotypes actually, I managed to write the pattern and send it to my testers for approval. I forgot to include a few steps and managed to mix up some labels on the pattern pieces, but putting that aside, the feedback I received from my pattern testers was great! The pattern might look complicated, but if you are familiar with sewing curves, darts and zippers, you should have no problem making your own McFly backpack.
The McFly pattern comes in two sizes: (regular) McFly and Mini McFly. The (regular) McFly is perfect to take to school or work because it can hold a small laptop, books, art supplies and more. It would be a great backpack to pack for a weekend trip or a hike. I like to use the larger size whenever I go shopping, and thanks to wide padded shoulder straps the backpack is comfortable to wear, especially when fully loaded. The Mini McFly backpack is smaller, which is ideal for a casual daily backpack for adults, teenagers and children.
Both McFly and Mini McFly are zippered on the top and have adjustable straps, handle, and oval base. The front is shaped using large darts and features a zipper pocket so you can access your belongings quickly whenever you want. The exterior side pockets are perfect to keep a small bottle of drink or an umbrella. The roomy interior also features zipper and slip pockets so you can organize your smaller belongings.
Finished measurements: Height / Width / Depth
McFly backpack 31 cm / 36 cm / 15 cm (12 1/4” / 14” / 6”)
Mini McFly backpack 25 cm / 31 cm / 13 cm (10” / 12 1/4” / 5”)
Skill level: Intermediate
Supplies needed
You will need the following list of supplies:
Please note: Measurements provided are based on the (regular) McFly backpack. You may need an additional amount of fabric with a directional print. Zippers must be measured between the zipper pull and the zipper stop. When using a continuous zipper cut it 2.5 cm – 5 cm (1” – 2”) longer.
Height / Width
- 90 cm / 145 cm (36” / 57”) External fabric: cotton canvas, faux leather, cork
- 90 cm / 145 cm (36” / 57”) Lining fabric: waterproof canvas, quilting cotton
- 10 cm / 35 cm (4” / 14”) Non-fraying fabric: cork, vinyl, leather
- 45 cm / 55 cm (18” / 22”) Stabilizer: Fast 2 Fuse Heavy, Bosal In-R-Form foam stabilizer, Pellon Peltex, Fusible Fleece, By Annie’s Soft and Stable, Decovil etc.
- 160 cm / 145 cm (63” / 57”) Woven fusible interfacing: Stayflex, SF101, Wovenfuse, G700 etc.
- 2.5 cm (1”) D -ring x 2 (Mini McFly)
- 2.5 cm (1”) Strap adjuster x 2 (Mini McFly)
- 2.5 cm (1”) Ladder lock slider x 2 (McFly)
- 2.5 cm (1”) Webbing 130 cm (51”)
- Double pull #5 zipper 52 cm (21”) x 1
- #5 zipper 18 cm (7”) x 1
- #3 zipper 20 cm (8”) x 1
- Double-sided tape
- Rivets x 9 (optional)
- Metal tag x 1 (optional)
- Woven label x 1 (optional)
- Fray-check glue (optional)
- Multi-surface glue (optional)
The McFly backpack pattern is available in the shop now. The pattern is on sale till 30th of October ’21, so make sure to get your copy!
I would love to see your versions so join Allsewpetite – makers group on Facebook. In the meantime have a look at all creations that my pattern testers made. They are absolutely beautiful!
Video series available on YouTube
I’ve created 7-parts video series for this pattern, so you can watch alongside the pattern instructions, or just want to find out if this is the right sewing project for you.
