DIY: Back To School #3

Sewing Machine

Matching thread

Two 12x 14 pieces of cotton fabric

Iron on Adhesive

Handful of Pins

Craft Felt

Two 58'' pieces of cording

Safety pin

Scissors

Iron

Adhere the iron on adhesive to the back of your piece of felt. Print out a letter, pin, and cut the letter out of the adhesive-backed felt.

Cut your two 12 x 14 pieces of fabric. Remove paper from the felt letter and iron it onto the middle of one of your pieces.

Carefully sew around the shape of the letter with a contrasting color thread and with a long stitch length

On the front piece, press with your iron ¼ inch around three sides, leaving one short side raw. Sew those three ironed sides down. Repeat with the back piece of the backpack.

On both the front and back piece, measure 2 ½'' from the top of the raw side and mark with a pen. Fold down ½ inch, press another 2'' to meet that pen mark you  made.

Press and sew close to the edge of this seam. Repeat on the back piece. You've just made the loops that the cording will slide through to cinch the pack closed.

Now take both pieces and lay them right sides together with pins making sure to line up those loops at the top opening. Sew the two pieces together, 5/8'', starting right below the loop on one side and ending right below the loop on the other side. Turn it inside out and press.

All you have left to do is thread the cording! Attach a safety pin to the end of one of your two 58'' cording pieces. Start on the right side, on the top piece, and thread it towards the left  until  the cording comes out of the left top piece. Then thread it through the back piece starting at the left side and ending on the right side of the back piece.

Both ends of your first piece of cording should now hang out of the right side like so. Even them out and tie both pieces together at the end with a knot.

Do the same with the second piece of cording but starting on the opposite side. Both ends of this second piece of cording should now end up on the left side as shown.

You're almost done! Turn the bag inside out one more time. Unpick a couple stitches in both of those bottom corners. Put both knotted cords inside the bag and pull them each through the corner on the same side.

Sew a zig zag stitch diagonally to hold the cord in place. Reinforce several times. Repeat with the second corner.

Turn your bag right side out and pull the cords on each side to cinch.