This upcycled tea towel backpack project was designed by Louise Briggs.
Simply use two brightly coloured tea towels and make this useful backpack – it’s reversible too!
You will need…
Two tea towels measuring approx. 16 x 28 inches
6 metres piping cord
Pins
Scissors
Ruler
Thread
Sewing machine
To Sew
Please use a ¼ inch seam allowance throughout.
1. Take two tea towels and remove 5 inches from the bottom of each. Put the cut pieces of fabric to one side.
2. Turn over to the wrong side and pin a 1 1/2 inch channel at the top of each tea towel.
3. Stitch the channel down with a straight stich making sure to reverse stitch at each end.
4. Take your two tea towel scraps and cut two 5 x 3 inch rectangles. Pin right sides together, sew down pinned edge, cut excess and turn through.
5. Fold in half again and stitch.
6. Place the two tea towels right sides together sandwiching the two tabs 3 inches from the bottom.
7. Sew around the tea towels up to where the stitching for the channel begins at the top.
8. Cut excess fabric and make a diagonal cut up to the stitching on the bottom corners.
9. Turn through and press.
10. Cut your cord in half and attach a safety pin onto one end of the first piece of cord. Thread through the channel as shown in the images below then repeat on the other side and with the other piece ofr cord and loosely knot.
11. Adjust the straps to the length wanted and knot tightly.
Here is your finished upcycled tea towel backpack!
For other upcycling projects visit our free sewing projects page and click the upcycling tag.
