[Claudiarj]

Hello,

The penguin backpack looks to be made of a herringbone (?) denim fabric (or maybe I’m seeing things.) Does anyone know of a source for a similar fabric? Or should I just use a dark blue denim?

Thanks in advance!

Claudia

[KarenK]

I believe the bag was made from tweed?

[freyiris]

I think I remember a post Liesl wrote ages ago where she said she quite liked reversing denim and having the back as the front because it was a visually more interesting. Possibly it was for a pair of puppet show shorts for S. Could the backpack be made out of the back of black denim?

[Sarvi]

I’m curious to know if anybody has made this from wool? I’m worried it might be a little too floppy. It’ll be worn over clothing so itchiness shouldn’t be a problem, right? I have a few pieces of such nice wool left over from other projects, none big enough to make a garment, so I was thinking I could patch them together for something like this and make some kind of funny animal.

[Sarvi]

Also, if I want to make the sides from a napped fabric like corduroy, should I make it in two pieces?

[Sarvi]

Third and hopefully last question — would making the back panel (outer fabric, part that touches the back of your shirt) in corduroy make it ‘grab’ your shirt?

[Sarvi]

Well, I answered my own questions, so in case anybody else decides to try similar fabrics:

a) yes, wool is too floppy – I added a layer of interfacing to the back of the main fabric, which helped, but it’s still very soft and unstructured-seeming

b) yes, if you use a napped or directional fabric and want it to all head toward the bottom, cut two pieces, each half the length of the side, + half an inch or however much you like your seam allowances to be

c) yes, the corduroy was sort of grabby, so I used wool instead

[Justine J]

Sorry noone answered you Sarvi!

I haven’t even looked at this pattern (yet) so I would have been no help… 🙂

[Nicole]

I am sorry too,I have not made it yet and when I have a guess,I seem to get it wrong.

I can not wait to see your photos…..I am itching to make it!

[Sarvi]

It’s an awfully sweet pattern and would be a snap for you expert types. Everything is correct and fits together nicely, especially if you follow all the little tips. There’s a lot of room for adding fun touches, like things that button, snaps, or lace, for a smaller child to practice with, or extra pockets/elastic loops inside and out for favorite toys. It would also be great for some of those Japanese canvaslike fabrics that are too wild for regular clothes, too heavy for pyjamas, but still too fun to pass up.

[daisygirl78]

Yes, thank you for doing the legwork for us on this one, Sarvi! It’s on my (ginormous) to-make list.