Made by a Fabricista: Range Backpack

Hi there sewing friends! This post is an exciting one for me because it marks my return to sewing! Ha! My sewing machine has been packed up and stored away in the corner of my bedroom since the beginning of July!

You see, my family decided to renovate our kitchen, and our kitchen used to have a teen-incy little room off to the side of it that held all of my crafting and sewing supplies. Well, we knocked that wall down back in July and have been working non stop (literally every free minute we've had) for the past three months on the kitchen renovation!

You'd think we were done with the renovation (it has been three months!), but we're not even close. We've been doing 90% of the work ourselves, and honestly, if we could pause the rest of our lives (like school, church, sports, work) I'm sure we could finish quickly, but life is still moving forward, so our renovation is slowly crawling along!

I know, I know, you came here to hear about sewing, and not about my renovation drama, so let's dive into some sewing details! This is the range backpack pattern (by Anna Graham of Noodlehead). I have loved the look of this bag ever since pics started popping up on instagram!

I looked around the fabric mart website for some sturdy, heavy duty fabric and landed on this beautiful wool fabric. I wasn't sure if it would work for a bag, but I've seen several other wool bags online, so I hit order and crossed my fingers that it would work for this pattern!

When it arrived in the mail I knew it was perfect! This wool is backed by a solid black polyester fabric, making it super sturdy and the perfect weight to sew a bag! I used the wool for the majority of the range backpack, but used the solid black polyester side of the fabric for the contrast bottom! I love how the two fabrics look together!

The range backpack pattern was really easy to follow! Since the wool fabric was so thick, and at many times I was sewing through several layers of fabric, I used a jeans needle in my sewing machine, which worked perfectly.

Sewing this bag was a little interesting since most of my sewing supplies are still packed away. When I found some free time to sew, I couldn't find where I had packed away any pins or clips to hold the fabric together. I ended up using clothes pins (during a renovation, you do what you can do)! Because of my funny improvising, I see little imperfections that bug me (like the wonky lines by the zipper) but thankfully my sweet girl doesn't notice any of those mistakes and loves her new bag!

The range backpack pattern calls for a lining, but since this fabric is backed, I omitted the lining and instead just turned down the top 1.5 inches and topstitched that fold in place. The only other change I made was to add that swivel clip instead of the fabric closure as called for in the pattern. This honestly wasn't the plan, but the wool fabric was so thick, I couldn't thread it through the d rings, so had to come up with another plan. I love how the clip looks and am so glad that's what I ended up using!

Here's a quick recap of the details:

Fabric: Double Faced Wool Coating
Pattern: Range Backpack
Modifications: omitted lining, clip closure instead of fabric closure

One last thing. The listing for this wool coating says it is a warm gray. I agree, bit I would add that it has a little bit (very slight) pink tone with the gray, that I absolutely love! I was pleasantly surprised to see the color of the fabric and it turned out to be even prettier in person than pictured on the computer! Okay, off to go work on the kitchen renovation some more...

Made by a Fabricista: The Bernadette

Hello friends, My Latest Fabricista Make: Friday pattern Co Bernadette Skirt x Midnight Navy Cotton/Lycra Sateen Stretch Denim Hi everyone, this is Byrd with my latest Fabricista make! When I saw Fabric Mart’s Muted Midnight Navy Cotton/Lycra Sateen Stretch Denim , I knew it would be perfect for my next project. The color is rich and versatile—a deep navy that works as a neutral but still has presence. The stretch denim has just the right balance: structure with a bit of give, making it great for a garment that needs both shape and comfort. It’s an ideal fabric for fall transitions, but it’s sturdy enough to carry straight into winter with tights and boots. For the pattern, I chose the Bernadette Skirt by Friday Pattern Company . This is one of their newer designs, and I knew immediately I wanted to sew it up. It’s a modern skirt that blends structure and style, with darts in the back and pleats in the front for a flattering fit. One of my favorite features is the belt, and of co...

Made By A Fabricista: Falling for Knits

We are now well into Fall, even though the temps are still relatively warm here in Texas. I love the fall season and dressing for Fall. When it comes to the conversation of knits vs. wovens I typically sew mostly wovens. So for this post I decided to sew completely knits! With the holiday season right around the corner I saw these three dress styles as perfect for Friendsgiving/Thanksgiving gatherings. The first look is a tried and true pattern Simplicity S9372. Using this gorgeous burgundy ponte knit , I like how this pattern fits throughout. I chose this color to add to my typically neutral palette in my closet. I also wanted something I could wear to my sorority meetings and found this color perfect. It's an easy sew with back fisheye darts and invisible zipper to add to the tapered style. The neckline and armholes are finished with bias binding giving it a clean finish on the inside. I used a universal needle to sew a...

Made By A Fabricista: The Art of the Slow Make: My La Forme Double-Breasted Jacket

I started this project back in July — one of those mid-summer sewing plans meant to get me ahead for fall. My idea was simple: start my wardrobe a season (or two) early so that when cooler weather came, I’d already have a few handmade pieces ready to wear. That was the plan, anyway. But as sewing often reminds us, plans evolve. This jacket, made using La Forme pattern No. 0303, is a double-breasted design with peak lapels and an exaggerated hip detail that gives it such a striking silhouette. I fell in love with the structure of the pattern right away — it has that timeless, tailored feel I can never resist — but it also asked for patience. I picked it up and put it down several times over the months, letting it rest while I worked on other projects, until finally, the timing felt right to bring it to life. And now, here we are — the leaves are turning, there’s a chill in the air, and some parts of the country are even seeing snow. My summer-started jacket is finally finished, and it c...

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