Backpack Plus a Zipper Tip

I was at my local fabric store when my little boy excitedly spotted some Buzz & Woody fabric (He is close to obsessed). I thought it would be fun to make him something out of it so I bought some. Here's what I ended up making:

I thought it would be something fun for him to pack his clothes in for when we go visit his grandmas & grandpas.

When I got done with it, he was really excited that it had Buzz and Woody on it, but was in no way excited to have it strapped to his back, otherwise I would have pictures of my little guy modeling it.

I considered making up my own pattern but then spotted this pattern at the same place I got the fabric at for only $3. Why not? It's the Butterick See & Sew B5346. I actually altered it a little for the straps because I wanted them to be adjustable and have a little more padding. I'll admit, I am not an advanced seamstress--it took me a while, but seemed pretty easy to follow.

Image from HERE

Well, that's not all I wanted to post about. Here is a little zipper tip. My mom is a seamstress. Much better than I am. Well, the sewing skills were actually mostly inherited by my sister Lizz. She can sew just about anything and totally makes her own clothes and handbags all of the time, and they are impressive! I was recently talking to her on the phone, and she told me that she saves the plastic bags that her pillows, bedding items, etc. come in and uses the zippers from those--they are usually in great shape and easy to use a seam ripper to remove. Come to think of it, maybe that's why my mom always had a box full of zippers handy for any sewing project (apparently I am not as observant as my sister is--maybe that is why she ended up with all the skills). So that is what I did for Tucker's backpack when I realized I forgot to buy a zipper.

Thank you Boppy Pillow Plastic Case for contributing your perfect zipper for this backpack and saving me a trip to the store to get one because I forgot to buy one earlier. Look! I even have 2 more black zippers for a future project from our Beautyrest pillows purchase! I am now a collector :)