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Fiona Cosplay Backpack

By the skin of our teeth, we finished the backpack in time for Tampa Anime Day. Ok, so it turned out a lot bigger than planned, but she can stick lots of stuff in it. I've always over-estimated for seam allowances. My thought is that it's always easy to cut out, but you can't add back to it. K1 seemed to be ok with it being extra large and we were out of time, so we can downsize at a later time if she wants. Maybe someday I'll get better at making up my own patterns.
We started with cutting out our half-ovals and then sewing the two colors together - twice, one for the front and one for the back. Then we sewed the panel piece to the lower green part.
We could have just sewed the front and back together, but opted for the side panels to give more room and depth. Function! 
My new rotary tool came in handy for this part, especially since we were piecing together two different colors. I also found that my walking foot was easier to use with this bulky material.
The arm straps were the easiest to make, with the exception of lining the colors so that they matched up with the back pack. Just a single stitch down the entire length and then turn inside out. Felt is a great textile to work with because you do not have to finish the edges to prevent fraying. 
The zipper is my least favorite embellishment to add. For this I split the light green panel in half lengthwise and then sewed them together. Then I opened the piece up and flattened out the seam so that the seam was visible. The zipper is then placed on top of the seam, lining the teeth along the seam of the fabric. Pin into place.
I should have switched to a zipper foot, but I didn't and I ended up catching the zipper just right and breaking my needle. Oops. Good thing I had another one.
Sew along the edge of the zipper and be careful not to sew over it. At the short ends of the zipper, I sewed back and forth several times for extra security. Kids are hard on zippers and I wanted to be sure this one stayed put!
After the zipper is in place, grab out the seam ripper and break the seam over the top of the zipper.
Did I mention how much I hate installing zippers? It wasn't the prettiest of seams. I suppose I need more practice.
Last part, sew front and back together, turn right side out and it's done!
Fan art
 
She turned out pretty cute. Just another excuse to dress up. It's like Halloween year round at our house.



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