The Charlie kraft-tex Backpack
Posted by Gailen Runge on May 4th 2018
My blog roll is a fairly straightforward one. I don't want any surprises as I scroll through, so I try to limit stressful things (I avoid the political blogs and other deep-thinking sites). Basically I use it for eye candy and inspiration. It's pretty evenly split between cooking, general sewing, quilting, and fitness, with a little reality TV, other crafts, and fashion mixed in.
I find that a little fashion goes a long way, because I can fall down a rabbit hole of clicks when something catches my eye. And let's just say that a couple of months ago, backpacks were something that were catching my eye a lot. Not clunky school backpacks or high-tech backpacking or dayhiking packs. Nope. I fell in love with the classy, leather, not-too-bulky, versatile, fashionable variety.
And while I have been seriously tempted more than once to buy a backpack, I much prefer to make my own bags. And once I make one, if enough people at the office say they'd like me to make them one, too, then I like to turn it into a pattern. Thus the Charlie Backpack was born!
The Charlie kraft-tex Backpack shape is rectangular from the back and triangular from the side. The rectangle is large enough to fit most laptops and all tablets. The triangle shape gives you additional room for your wallet and other necessities (or you can keep your money and keys in the wristlet included in the pattern).
Where did the inspiration for the woven texture come from? Part of my blog roll includes other, non-fabric crafts, and it was in the paper world that I discovered paper weaving. Combining kraft-tex with weaving was a no-brainer for me. The stability of kraft-tex means it's not going to tear, and the woven surface is as strong as an uncut sheet of kraft-tex.
If you want to try weaving with kraft-tex on your own, find a paper-weaving pattern you like and give it a try. If you want some help on it, the Charlie kraft-tex Backpack Pattern includes complete instructions, including a pattern to follow. And there's a second weaving pattern to try out on the Charlie wristlet, also included in the pattern.
Have fun with it and share your efforts on social media #charliekrafttexbackpack!
