A Back-Packing We Will Go

Everyone should have a fun, functional, travel size project that they can add their own flare to and make over and over and over again…and after I got sick of making washcloths (hehehe) I found an online pattern for a crochet backpack. The pattern is very easy and quite simple. However, I’ve never actually made it plain stripes like the pattern suggests. In fact I’ve done quite the opposite and thrown every stitch in my arsenal into this bag. Not all of them at the exact same bag but over about 10 of them

The bag in the picture, at the top of the page, happens to be my daughter’s. Why is it that 3 year olds feel the need to take absolutely everything with them but not carry any of it themselves? It used to be that everywhere I went my purse was full of spare pull-ups and travel wipes, butt balm, teddy bears and crayons. After pulling everything out of my purse (but the kitchen sink) at Target one day so that I could find my wallet and pay the cashier, I resolved to do something about my unmanageable mess. I thought that if my daughter had a backpack then she could carry her own mess and still have her hands free, which of course is why children hate to carry anything…so much stuff to touch!

Fortunately for me, my daughter absolutely loves her “pack-pack”. She packs her own toys it in (I usually throw in a spare pair of panties and some animal crackers as well) and off we go. She took it on the plane to visit nana, she also takes it to the park and it goes to church.

To say I have made a few changes to the pattern would probably be the understatement of the year but I think the most important change I’ve made is with the strap. I always work 2 strands together into a chain long enough to work and go back to the beginning in single crochet before slip-stitching back to the other end again. This way the strap doesn’t stretch so much. I also make my bags out of red heart because I know they are going to get run through the wringer and Red Heart is durable and extremely washable.

I wish I could say that I designed this pattern but I didn't, I mearly play with it. If you would like to see the original pattern, here you go :)
http://www.fuzzygalore.biz/patterns/ribbonbag.shtml