Backpack and Doll Carrier

Do you have a girl who loves 18 inch dolls??  I do! This is a great gift idea!!  It is a Backpack and Doll Carrier – the child can wear the backpack and also have a doll carrier all in one. 

I just sewed one of these up for my daughter (shhh, it’s a secret – don’t tell her) – – it’s awesome!! 

Let me tell you, it’s perfection!  It’s a backpack, child size, and on the outside of the backpack is a doll harness.  So it’ll be filled inside with all the doll clothes that we have floating around and the doll can go along in the harness with her things wherever she needs to be.
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Free Doll Carrier Backpack Pattern

I was sent a pattern from Gramma Allie, from her former etsy shop and she was gracious enough to share it with all of you. You can access it by entering your email in the box below:

Sewing a Child Backpack 

I have never sewn a backpack before, but I did it!!  It really wasn’t hard – trust me!  She even shows a super easy way to sew in a zipper – I was impressed with myself at the construction of the whole thing.  

You’ll need:

Materials needed1 yard of canvas or heavy style fabric of choice
4-1 ½ inch “D” rings
16 inch zipper
1 yard of double-sided bias tape of contrasting color
1/3 yard of medium to heavy weight fusible interfacing for straps and circumference
panel
Any ribbon or rickrack you may want to add

Here’s a peek into the inside – I serged all the seams for a finished edge – –

 Contrasting Piping

My favorite part is the bold piping I added – – the pattern calls for thick material for the backpack and the only canvas I had on hand was this plain turquoise.  So I thought piping would be the perfect way to add pattern and color.  I made my own piping which I’ve never done before but it was really easy — basically you just take a strip of fabric, fold it in half, put cording in the fold, and then sew as close to the cording as you can. My cording was kind of thick because I was going for some fat piping – – doesn’t it look great?!?!

 Construction time and skill level

I think it took me 1.5 to 2 hours to make – so not that long.  And remember I did all that extra work for the piping, so I’m sure it could be constructed faster.  So if you’re needing a gift for Christmas for that special little someone, you still have plenty of time to make this!  It’s a gift for my daughter, so I obviously couldn’t get her to model the backpack for me – – so you’ll just have to imagine this strapped to her:

You can make this!!  Really!  Doesn’t a backpack sound hard? – I thought so too, but look, it wasn’t!  You can do it!

Gifts to Sew

If you love sewing gifts, you might also want to check out:
Fabric Alphabet Letters
Fleece Blanket with Pom Poms
Simple Girls Apron

Doll Gifts to Buy

If you’re making this way cute doll carrier, you might want some goodies to pack into the backpack – here are some great gift suggestions:
DOLLS
Ice Skating 18 inch Doll
Super Hero 18 inch Doll
Cute doll pink dress 18 inch Doll

DOLL ACCESSORIES
pajama and sleeping bag doll set
set of princess dresses for 18 inch dolls
swimsuit travel doll set