Fabric and Notions for the Elevenses Backpack

The Elevenses Backpack is a veritable feast for fabric!

You can choose one fabric for the entire exterior, or mix and match a few accents. The optional patchwork opens up even more possibilities, the lining is an opportunity for a fun surprise, and even the notions are a place to flex your creativity.

All of the fabrics for the Elevenses Backpack should be woven. Let’s start with the main fabric. 

Main Fabric for the Elevenses Backpack

For your Main Fabric you want to choose something durable like canvas, waxed canvas, or dry oilskin.

Big Sur canvas is widely available and comes in a lot of colors. Dry oilskin and waxed canvas add more durability, as well as texture, but are slightly tricker to sew.

For any of these fabrics, we recommend a jeans needle or heavy-duty needle. Remember that you should not interface or press waxed canvas or dry oilskin.

Waxed canvas and dry oilskin are advanced-skills fabrics – if this is your first backpack, plain canvas is a good place to start. 

Contrast Fabric

The Contrast Fabric is the place to really go wild!

You can piece together scraps, go with a complimentary solid, or choose a fun quilting cotton print. Essex linen (solid or printed) is a really great choice. It is a 50/50 cotton linen blend that quilts up beautifully and looks lovely in patchwork. But any midweight cotton would work well. We don’t recommend anything with rayon, a loose weave, or too much bias stretch, especially for patchwork. These will be difficult to sew and to quilt.

If you are planning to use the Sawtooth Star tutorial for the pocket, you will need one or more additional contrast fabrics for piecing. You don’t need very much, just a fat quarter or some scraps from your stash.

We have two other patchwork tutorials you might want to try for your pocket. One is for sewing half square triangles or a square within a square block. The other for sewing a pieces sunburst pocket. Either of these options will also effect your fabric choice, and they include cutting lists. We recommend quilting cotton, essex linen, or any midweight cotton for these tutorials as well. Fat quarters or scraps will work for these too.

You will also need a Backing Fabric for the quilted panels. This fabric will not be seen, so muslin is a fine choice, or any quilting cotton you may have in a print that you no longer like! 

Lining Fabric

We also recommend a quilting cotton or similar fabric for the Lining. In general, a lighter color makes it easier to see inside your backpack and find things, but that is absolutely not a rule! Choose something fun that makes your heart happy. 

Batting

The pattern calls for cotton batting, to provide body and enhance the soft, quilty nature of the bag. We want this to be a piece that wears in fabulously, and has that comfortable visual appeal. While many bag-makers will use an adhesive foam or batting, sticking with natural fibers is our preference, though you can suit yourself in this decision, too! 

Hardware and Webbing

The Elevenses backpack requires a variety of 1” bag hardware. If you want to get all of this hardware and webbing and your zipper in one place, with one order, we recommend Wawak. They ship internationally and have everything you will need. However, they don’t have a wide variety of hardware finishes or webbing colors. 

If you are feeling a bit more particular about those things, Sallie Tomato has fun finishes for hardware like rose gold, as well as nylon coil zipper by the yard, and some 1” webbing. Noodlehead has a selection of 1” webbing in great colors as well as nylon coil zippers in coordinating colors. Noodlehead also carries some of the 1” notions needed, but you might need to order from a couple places to get everything. 

Another great place to find hardware is Buckle Guy. They sell a lot of finishes, individual pieces and bundles, and have reasonable shipping. 

Some Fun Fabric, Webbing, and Notion Combos

Our friends at EWE Fine Fibers have kits with everything you need, but if you want to make your own combo you know I have a few suggestions!

Combo 1: Blue Canvas, RSS Flowers, Spring Green Webbing

Combo 2: Chestnut Canvas, Sevenberry Bunnies, Pink Webbing

Combo 3: Canyon Brown Canvas, Fabelism Track Stripe, Natural Webbing

Combo 4: Pink Canvas, Sevenberry Flowers, Smokey Green Webbing

Combo 5: Green Canvas, Sevenberry Tomato, Acorn Webbing

Combo 6: Ivory Webbing, RSS Flowers, Pink Webbing 

If you are adding patchwork, you can put together scraps from your stash, or use your contrast fabric as inspiration to pull coordinates. A combination of solids and prints is often a cute combo, and you just want to make sure there is some nice contrast in hue between your fabrics so that your piecing stands out. If you choose the sunrise quilting design it will stand out more on a solid or solid-read fabric. 

However, there are no rules, and if you want a quilted design on a printed fabric that is great too! Follow your heart, and quilt your piece in a way that feels best for you. I did a 1 ½” grid on mine, the geometric lines complimented my organic print and stitched in the ditch around my star block. Elevenses is a pattern meant to help you flex those creative muscles. Make something that really represents you!