My Favorite Book Bag

Most people would throw something out after a squirrel tried to chew through it. I am not one of those people.

My recent post on my knitting bag reminded me of the current state of my favorite book bag. It’s in bad shape.

It has squirrel damage. I left a sandwich wrapped in paper unattended in this bag when I was doing outdoorsy stuff in the woods. I came back and my sandwich was out of my bag and badly nibbled. The bag had this hole in it. Common sense could have saved my bag from squirrel damage. I continued to use it anyways.

The cheap lace is doing what cheap lace does. It is falling apart.

The straps are dead. I blame my copy of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. It murders book bags. I also did not reinforce the straps when I made the bag and I should have. I thought about replacing the straps by cutting the existing straps short and using them to attach D rings so I could add new sturdier straps, but the bag is so beat up that it doesn’t seem worth while.

I sewed the bag while watching the season of Project Runway with Chris March. I think that was my senior year of high school? The bag is lined with the polka dot fabric and there is polar fleece sandwiched in the middle. I added the fleece for a bit of padding because I always accidentally whack things with my bag. The only other detail is a small patch pocket for pens on the inside.

I think I might make a new version of this bag. This one has had a good life and it is time for it to move on. I’ll have to dig through my stash and see what my options are for version 2.