back in the summer of 2013 i made maya and etta owl backpacks from the little things to sew book.

over the past four years these backpacks have gotten a lot of use (making daily trips to preschool) and have held up really well, so last weekend i decided to make a lil' man version for the son of a favorite co-worker!

love aunt maggie | owl backpack for lil man

now if I'm being honest i did this partly for my enjoyment.

you see this pattern is from oliver + s, which means it is exceptionally well drafted and the instructions are flawless. so even though it is a more difficult project it comes together perfectly and is just a joy to sew, especially while watching trashy reality TV and drinking dark beer.

just look at this zipper construction, it's flawless!

and how can someone not find this itty bitty edge stitching to be adorable?

fabric

like the girl version i started with the lining, I used the same 'owls all around' print from adornit's nested owls collection, only in the darker color scheme. (this print is no longer available on fabric.com, but some etsy shops have it.)

the canvas was a 9.3 oz navy duck from fabric.com. sure it's basic but it holds up well.

the 'feathers' for the belly, wing, and ears is a scallop print from riley blake's 'merry little christmas' collection.

the nose, feet, and eyes were scraps of fabric i had lying around. the white part of the eyes was left over from some too long IKEA curtains that I cut down years ago, hey waste not want not! (also i traced a beer bottle to get that perfect circle.)

hardware

i used a closed bottomed molded 22 inch plastic zipper (from fabric.com), a bit thicker than the zippers used in attire it definitely can stand up to a toddler.

inside i used a magnetic purse snap (also from fabric.com) for the pocket. i definitely recommend a few layers of interfacing on each piece of fabric as this magnet is really strong.

finally the buckles are from pacific trimmings.

modifications

even though it's been four years since I made this pattern i was confident enough to do a few modifications.

on the inside i added an extra pocket, so there is one on the front and one on the back. using ribbon left over from my wedding bouquet i added a little loop on the inside (so he can clip something to it.)

on the outside i added edge stitching around the wings and a side pocket under each wing that was lined in the owls fabric.