Bag Transformer & Backpack Tutorial

2 IN 1 BAG & BACKPACK. Free Sewing Tutorial and Pattern.  Ideal for traveling, a 2 x 1: a shoulder bag and, with a simple change, a comfortable backpack.  Now I'll explain you how to make it, with patterns and everything.

 What do we need?

  - 0,5 m of canvas or any other material with body
  - 0.5 m of matching fabric
  - Thick thermo-adhesive flanneline (to give body and stiffness to the bag)
  - One 30 cm zipper
  - Two 18 cm zippers
  - 1.5 m of cotton backpack straps
  - 3 carabiners of 3 cm
  - 1 1 cm carabiner
  - 6 D-rings
  - 2 tensioners (for the strap)
  - Patterns can be downloaded here Pattern 1, Pattern 2, Pattern 3

Let's get to work. We start by printing the patterns in Din-A4 size. Pieces A and B should be joined by the + * marks and will form the front and back of the bag.
On the black canvas we cut the piece AB twice double, piece C twice and a strip of 9 cm wide and 65 cm long that will be the bottom of the bag. We put fliseline on all the pieces. We will also cut and sew a 3 cm wide strip to sew the rings.
In the printed fabric we cut the piece D, two strips of 4 cm wide and 29 cm long with flapjacks (sides of the zipper), a strip of 10 cm wide and 62 cm long (handle padding) and two squares of 20 x 20 cm (pocket). We will also cut all the pieces for the lining.
We will have to leave seam allowance on all the pieces.

We place piece D on one of the pieces of the body, according to marks 3 and 4, and with the strip we sewed before, we place one of the rings.

We sew the ring to the sign 4 and pass a stitch through the whole piece D.

On the reverse side of the other piece, which will be the back of the bag, we mark where the zippered pocket will go.

With the right sides facing each other, we place one of the squares and stitch along the mark we have made, cut out the center and make diagonal cuts at the corners.

Turn inside out and iron.

We sew the zipper in the opening that we have left. Place the other square on top, right sides together.

We sew the two squares together and overcast.

Sew the zipper to the two strips of printed fabric and iron on the right side.

We sew piece C to the strip at the bottom of the bag (right to right) and, coinciding with the marks, we will put a ring with its strip.

Iron on the right side and backstitch. Do the same with the other piece C at the other end of the bottom strip.

Sew this strip to one side of the zipper, iron on the right side and stitch. Do the same with the other side. We should have a closed strip.

We sew this strip to the front of the bag, matching signs 1 and 2.

Now we will sew it to the back of the bag. At this point we must take into account that coinciding with the sign 3 we will put a ring with its ribbon (one on each side) and in the upper center one of the carabiners with a ribbon (as marked by the arrows in the photo).

The lining is basically sewn in the same way, just keep in mind that we will not insert the rings and instead of sewing the zipper we will leave a gap. As you can see in the photo on one of the sides of the piece C I have sewn a 25 x 1,5 cm strip with the small carabiner. Lately I have added it to many bags. It is very practical to carry the keys and find them quickly inside the bag. It is also long enough to be able to use them.

In this photo we can see the entire lining finished with a zippered pocket just like the one on the outside.

Place the lining inside the bag, back to back, and sew the zipper edge with a stitch.

All that's left is the strap. To make it more comfortable on the shoulders I have put a padded strip with thin foam, but it can also be done with wadding. I have finished the ends with a point to make it more polished.

We place the padded strip centered with the strap and in the center we will put one of the rings. We will stitch a backstitch on the sides of the strap and on each side of the ring. I think this looks better in the photos.

And to finish the strap we pass a turnbuckle and a carabiner at each end, and sew. Now we have it finished.

As you can see, the system to change from shoulder strap to backpack is very easy, just change the carabiners and that's it. Don't tell me it's not practical?