By Annie Bag

Pitchers Boutique
12 minutes ago
4 min read

October is always a busy month for me, but this year it's even more chaotic than usual. I can't even begin to describe how each day seem to just flash by and I never seem to get done with anything on my list, but finally, after what felt like forever (because I could only work on it randomly), I have my By Annie bag done!

For this months Island Batik fabric challenge we had to make a By Annie bag. I decided to make the Got Your Back 2.1 which is an adorable backpack.

I wanted to use some vibrant bright fabrics as I always prefer my backpacks to stand out; always makes it easier to find it and myself in a crowd. I was lucky enough to get to use a few fabrics from the Frosted Foliage collection which is a Spring collection. This fabric is a softer collection of lighter teal blues, dark saturated navy and a beautiful lime green.

Check your local fabric stores and see if they still have this collection, because it's a great collection that really makes for a beautiful quilt or, for me this month, a bag!

I decided to use the two green fabrics as my outer main fabric and my inner lining fabric. I used the teal fabric as my accent and binding fabric. I found this worked out wonderfully but if I make this bag again, I think I might add more pops of color to the front of the bag by using the accent fabric for the front flap and the side pouches, etc.

If you have never made a By Annie bag before, you are in luck because a ton of her popular patterns have add on videos. By Annie also has a youtube challenge where she goes over all the different patterns and does an overview of what the bag looks like. This is great because if you need help choosing a pattern or want help within the pattern the add on videos are a great value.

If you have already made one or a few of the By Annie bags, you will probably love this pattern. It is a lot more challenging in the fact that it has some thick areas, but nothing a 110/18 (or Denim/Leather) needle can't handle.

This pattern also doesn't require a lot of hardware which makes me happy. It does have a few zippers and the magnet snap, but only other hardware is the bag strap hardware. Super easy to install and I did not feel like this one went over my head. This was a great pattern and the videos are always so helpful.

The backpack also has a built in wallet area, which one of the main reasons I love it. Being a military spouse I often have to carry my ID and my kids IDs so having a wallet area built into the backpack is just perfect! I eventually am thinking I will need to make a laptop protector case that matches and also add some padding to the straps for my longer daily trips on the trains.

Check out your local quilt or crafting stores to get your By Annie bag pattern and or you can purchase them online as well.

Thats it, let's take a look at this gorgeous backpack and the free motion quilting.

The front has a magnet closing flap and the sides have the pouches.

The back of the backpack has a great hidden zipper pouch which is perfect for when you are traveling and need to keep your wallet, passport and phone close to you so pickpockets can't get to it.

Inside the backpack you can add a zipper pouch or a mesh zipper pouch and you have some pockets on the other side. I love a mesh bag because it's great for my snacks on the go so I can see what is left to nibble on.

Also, can we just take a moment for my binding?! Like, chefs kiss right?

I also added some fun tags, and my own tag in case my bag gets lost.

I absolutely LOVE this light teal thread from Aurifil that I used and it quilted up so well with the lime green floral.

I had a large chunk of quilted fabric leftover, so I cut out a box bag piece and used my left over zipper and a zipper pull from a previous project and the leftover fabric I had and made a small bag (just like By Annie always says you can do) to add to my backpack for all my little cords and or tools.

How cute is it!

I love a cute or funny tag as well, if you haven't figured that out by now.

Look at the quilting, these batiks and this Aurifil thread just worked out so well together.

Now lets see them together:

Last reminder:

Thats all I have for this month on our By Annie bag challenge. I want to say thank you to By Annie bags and patterns as I always love making these bags and if you haven't made one yet, what are you waiting for?

I also want to thank Aurifil for the beautiful thread that worked out perfectly for this project.

Thanks to Island Batik/Lumin Fabrics for the amazing batiks and I am so excited to show this bag off everywhere I go!

Be sure to check out the other Ambassadors and their current projects:

Brenda Alburl- https://songbirddesigns.blog

Renee Atkinson- https://wordpress.com/posts/pinktulipquilting.studio

Susan Deshensky- www.ladybluequilts.com/blog

Tina Dillard- https://quiltingaffection.blogspot.com/

Brittany Fisher- Www.bobbinwithbrittany.com

Kimberly Flannagan- https://www.kimberlysquilts.com/blog

Preeti Harris- https://sewpreetiquilts.blogspot.com

Mania Hatziioannidi- www.maniaforquilts.com

Kim Jamieson-Hirst- https://www.chatterboxquilts.com/blog