Rustic Rucksack!

A few weeks ago, my daughter sent me a picture of a rucksack she admired, and asked if I could replicate it.

Looked pretty basic; so I said of course.

Me and my big mouth.

I couldn't find any patterns that came even close to this type of bag. Finally, after spending too much time searching pattern sites and catalogs, I figured that I was going to have to wing it.

The Amazon product site was kind enough to list the dimensions of the bag, so that was my starting point. From there, I eyeballed some pattern piece sizes (drafted on Pellon Tru Grid -- wonderful stuff) and threw together a muslin. Diana gave her approval on Friday evening, and said she hoped it would be finished in time for our trip to New York City... tomorrow.

Somehow, it got done. And the daughter has pronounced it "perfect!"

Here she is, testing it out:

She was looking for the "wicker basket" look, and while she had hoped I could do leather accents, I just found the leather I had on hand too difficult to work with (it was really too thin). Maybe next time. The outer fabric is from Joann Fabrics' outdoor collection; the lining and contrast pieces are Joann Fabrics' linen-look.

There are four outside pockets; two on the front panel:

And one on each of the two side panels:

 

There's also a zippered pocket on the inside:

The bag closes with a braided leather drawstring, and the flap is held closed by threading the drawstrings through one of two grommets on the outer flap.

This upcoming New York trip will be the "trial by fire" for this bag; I'll let you know how it works out!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go pack my own suitcase for the trip!