Full of Love Valentine Chair Backpack Tutorial!

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Let's go ahead and jump right into the tutorial for the...

Full Of Love Valentine's Chair Backpack

Here's what you'll need...

Felt:
Orange
Red
Yellow (optional)
White
Black
Blue
pink (optional)

Sewing Machine
Red and Orange Thread
Scissors
Scratch Paper and Pencil

First, you'll want to cut your envelope piece of felt.  Here are the measurements that I used - I was being a little lazy and only using 1 piece of felt for my envelope, so it's kind of like a pouch...

First cut a rectangle that is 14" wide x 30" long

For the triangle end,  measure 7" in from the side and put a little mark, so you have a center mark on 1 end.  Then measure about 8" down from the same end on BOTH side and make a little mark.  Now, cut a straight line from the center mark to each of the 2 marks on the size, you'll now have a point. 

Fold your bottom end up to where your triangle starts and you can see you have the start of your backpack!

I then cut slots into the back of my backpack for my straps.  I cut the slots about 1" in from each side and they're roughly 2" wide.  The top and bottom slots around about 8" apart.  You can also sew the straps straight to the envelope if you'd rather, but I wanted the option of changing the length if I ever had to!

Now you'll start the fun part!  I drew a roughly outline of a dump truck - it's pretty much just a few squares, 2 circles and 1 rectangle with an angle. 

I then cut the dumper from orange, the tires from black, the cab from yellow (I ended up changing to red because I wanted a more Valentine feel), a small square from light blue for the window and that's it!

I also cut a few hearts from the red and pink felt.  I did them different sizes and I just eyeballed them.

You can lay it out until you're happy with the look.  I ended up rounding my point - I just like the look better.

If you're doing straps, you can cut your straps to be 2"x 20" from the red felt. You can also use ribbon if you'd rather.

Now it's time to assemble!  Here's what you should have:

First I top stitched all around the envelope with red thread.  I also stitched on my dump truck, I wanted to give it a little dimension, so I stitched the wheels, did a decorative siding on the dump part of my truck and stitched my window onto my cab.

 

 

Next, I folded the envelope and pinned all of my hearts and dump truck pieces to the envelope.  REMEMBER!!  Do not pin to BOTH pieces of your envelope, only to the outside piece that you're going to sew them onto!  Your envelope is still NOT sewn together, you'll need it completely open and flat to sew your dump truck onto it.

Once it's pinned on and you like the placement, open your envelope back up and sew your pieces on.

Now you can sew your envelope together.  I just did a straight stitch along bot sides - I also added a zig zag here and here just to give it a little more interest.

Now you can run your felt straps through the slots in the back.  I then sewed the strap ends  together so they each strap loops through the envelope.  Then just slide the sewn piece into the envelope so you can't see it.

That's it!  You're done!  You can now put your Valentine Backpack on a chair!

 

Now find a super cute boy and ask him to be your Valentine!

I've been collecting items for the past month or so to put in Adam's backpack, we use it similar to an Advent Calendar - I put something in it every day for him to see.  Remember, it doesn't have to be a "thing", it can be a note telling them why/how they're special and lovable or an activity... it's just a way to constantly remind them that they're loved.

After the Fact Ideas:

Here's a few things that I wish I would've done...

1.  Topstitch more - I wish I would've top stitched to make it look more like an envelope - I think the extra detailing would've added a lot.

2.  Pinked the edges - I wish I would've used decorative scissors or pinking scissors to cut the edges - this extra step would've made the envelope look a little more expensive.

3.  I wish I would've put Velcro or a snap or button on the pouch so that my flap would stay closed.  It pretty much does, thank goodness felt sticks to felt!

I think that's it!  I hope this was helpful!  If you decide to make one, let me know, I'd love to see it!

Have a great day!
Andrea