The thought nearly takes my breath away, but I'm preparing to send my oldest son to Kindergarten in only a few short days. He's growing up so quickly; I can barely believe I'll be scooting him out the door each morning to take on the world without me by his side. He's an awesome little guy, and I hope his teacher and classmates are as dazzled as I am by his sweet personality, quirky habits and grand curiosity. Most importantly, I hope he is happy at school, and that his natural love of learning isn't dampened by the structured environment.
It's always fun to get a gift, so I thought some new school supplies might increase his excitement about this new chapter in his life. Enter the Diego backpack (from a Made By Rae pattern) and matching pencil case (no pattern). Diego is a bit of a juvenile pattern, but Joshua still likes Diego, and I still have a bit of Diego fabric, so Diego it is. We can do something more 'big boy' when the time comes. I suspect this is one hand-me-down my youngest won't mind claiming.
I love the piping on the bag, and the adjustable straps. I used fusible web to attach the lining and to make the fabric more canvas-like. The bottom is padded and quilted, as are the straps. It's a great pattern for little ones. The bag is definitely on the small side, but I didn't want him hauling around one of those giant packs. The pencil case is lined with felt to make it sturdy, and I added little tabs out of bias tape to make opening and closing the zipper easier. I actually made a trip to the fabric store to buy a brown zipper to match the backpack, but sometime between my shopping trip and sewing time, the zipper disappeared. My youngest was pretty fascinated with it, so I suspect I'll find it tied around a teddy bear or stuffed into his sock drawer at some point.
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You made that backpack? Wow, I am totally impressed.
ReplyDeleteI had to face the same fears when sending my kids to school. (HUGS)
WOW! your work is amazing!
ReplyDeleteAt least you're optimistic about finding it....at my house, that would be impossible.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great backpack! I have to say though, bigger backpacks do have their place in kindergarten. Agendas, or "daily communication envelopes", large artwork, snack/lunch bags, change of clothes...it's incredible what they expect 3 year olds to lug to school! However, we never needed pencil cases for at kindergarten, but at home they are very helpful for keeping each kid's stuff separate cause heaven help you if you use your sibling's chewed up pencil....LOL.
ReplyDeleteMy kiddos love Diego! Very creative.... love all the matching stuff! I"m sure your little guy was so excited when he saw this!
ReplyDeleteWhat an exciting milestone for everyone! You did a fabulous job on the backpack, the piping is perfect - so professional.
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat backpack! The Diego fabric is adorable!
ReplyDeleteTanya! Your son is so cute and his new backpack and pencil case are just fabulous! What a special thing for your first child to take to school with him! I love the Diego print! What an adorable project....you are so talented my friend! Angie xo
ReplyDeleteYour son is so adorable! Will he be starting JK or SK? Kirsten is starting JK in two days and I can't believe it. The backpack is absolutely amazing. You're so talented!
ReplyDeleteGreat job... looks perfect! Hope that his first day of school was wonderful! Our grandson started Kindergarten this year also. He is going to a Spanish saturation program where the teacher speaks Spanish for part of the day and English the rest of the time. They say the kids should be fluent in Spanish by the time they are in like 6th grade?
ReplyDeleteGood Luck to you with the new adventure!