Heart Backpack Free Pattern
Need your new favorite Valentine’s Day sewing project? I have you covered! I created this DIY Heart Backpack Free Pattern just for you that is perfect for Valentine’s Day and beyond!
2024 update: While I originally made this free backpack pattern when my oldest daughter was 3, over the years I’ve realized how great it is for all ages, even adults! Scroll on for my recommended strap adjustments to fit all ages and to see how it fits on my same daughter at 3, 9, and now almost 12 years old!
I had so much fun creating the bunny backpack free pattern last year, and now my girls won’t have to fight over who gets to wear it ;). Of course, they may be fighting over this one instead!
This backpack is fully lined and has adjustable straps, making it perfect for all sorts of shenanigans. And if your little one loves wearing dresses on all her adventures, this list of must-make free girls dress patterns will have you covered!
Want to see how this backpack looks on a tween (spoiler alert, it fits great!)? Lola was 3 when this was first posted, and you can see her in a tie dye version here as a 9 year old!
And why should we stop there? In this most recent update, Lola is almost 12 and with just lengthening the straps, it is still perfect on her. In fact, the 8″ I added to the straps are plenty long enough to fit me as an adult as well! You can read all about this fun Conversation Heart Backpack here, and learn how to make it in the new video tutorial below!
Need more fun Valentine’s Day project ideas? Check these out:
Heart Pocket Pillow Free Pattern
DIY Girls’ Heart Purse
Cricut Maker Heart Backpack
Lip Purse Free Pattern
Lip Balm Holder
Ready to get started on our DIY backpack? Here we go!
DIY Toddler Backpack
Experience Level: Intermediate
Supplies:
(contains affiliate links below)
Main fabric (44″ wide): 1/2yd woven fabric such as quilting cotton or home décor weight fabric (home décor weight fabrics will increase the stability of the finished backpack) – if you’re using the main fabric for the straps/strap loops/strap cover rather than the lining fabric, 3/4yd is required
Lining/Straps fabric (44″ wide): 1yd 100% quilting cotton
Interfacing: 2yd fusible interfacing (20″ wide Pellon SF101)
Fusible fleece: 3/4yd (45″ wide Pellon)
Strap adjusters – I used 2 1.5″ wide bag strap adjuster sets, but if you prefer, you could use actual backpack strap adjusters or 2 sets of D rings (and adjust the width and length of the straps accordingly)
9″ Non-separating zipper
40″ double fold 1/2″ wide bias tape – pre-made or custom made
Helpful Tools (seen in the tutorial video below):
Clips
Cricut Rotary Cutter
Cricut EasyPress Mat
Cricut EasyPress 2 10×12″
Cricut EasyPress Mini
Click here to download the Heart Backback Free Pattern pieces. Please remember this pattern is for personal use only. Ensure printer is not set to scale, and check 1″ test square on page 1 for printing accuracy. Tape pages together, matching diamonds. Cut fabric/interfacing/fusible fleece as directed on pattern pieces. Also cut additional pieces as outlined below.
Additional Pieces to Cut (also printed on pattern piece download above):
From Main Fabric:
Gusset: 34.75”x3.5”
Zipper Tabs: 2 – 1”x1.75”
From Straps/Lining Fabric:
Gusset: 34.75”x3.5”
Straps: 2 – 6”x24” (note: this length works well on my 3.5 year old as pictured – add 6″/8″ for tween/adult length straps)
Strap Loops: 2 – 6”x5”
Strap Cover: 2”x8”
From Interfacing:
Gusset: 2 – 34.75“x3.5”
Zipper Tabs: 2 – 1”x1.75”
Straps: 2 – 1.5”x24s” (see below for placement instructions) – add 6″/8″ for tween/adult length straps
Strap Loops: 2 – 1.5”x5” (see below for placement instructions)
Strap Cover: 2”x8”
From Fusible Fleece:
Gusset: 1 – 33.75”x2.5”
Straps: 2 – 1.5”x23” (see below for placement instructions) – add 6″/8″ for tween/adult length straps
Strap Loops: 2 – 1.5”x4” (see below for placement instructions)
*Fusible fleece gives the backpack body and stability, while still keeping the backpack soft. For a more rigidly shaped backpack, a substitute such as Annie’s Soft n Stable or Peltex 71F could be used for the front, back, and gusset pieces.
Heart Backpack Video Tutorial
New in 2024: Learn how to make this free heart backpack pattern with the video tutorial below or on our YouTube channel here! Video includes instructions to make it into a Conversation Heart Backpack! You can read more about the bag in the video here, and find the Cricut Design Space project here to add your own Iron-on design (if you have trouble with the link, use the font “Arial Rounded MT Bold” and make it 5″ in width, with letter space -1 and line space -4).
How to Sew a Heart Backpack
All seam allowances are 1/2″ unless otherwise noted. RST = Right sides together.
Cut out all pieces as instructed on pattern pieces. On fusible fleece pieces, trim the seam allowance from front, back, and gusset to reduce bulk (do not trim strap or strap loop fusible fleece pieces). Interfacing seam allowance can also be trimmed if desired – I usually trim it roughly for easier application). Apply interfacing to wrong side of corresponding pieces, and fusible fleece to main fabric pieces (see note below), following manufacturer’s instructions. Adhesive side of fusible fleece will be attached to right side of interfacing.
Fold strap and strap loop pieces in half and press. Fold each long raw edge to center and press. Open fold and attach interfacing, then fusible fleece adjacent to the center fold on one side.
With fold opened on one end of each strap, press raw edge 1/2″ toward wrong side. Fold straps and strap loops in half along as was originally pressed, and press. Stitch close to edge along each side, and along short pressed edge (required for strap only – strap loops and handle can be stitched along one short edge as well to avoid needing to backstitch and lift the presser foot between stitching long edges).
Fold each strap loop in half and through adjuster ring. Stitch ends together, 1/4″ from raw edges.
Press each long edge of strap cover piece 1/2″ toward wrong side. Place top of strap cover along line as marked on pattern piece and pin in place. Stitch close to bottom folded edge to attach strap cover to back.
Slide strap loops under top folded edge of strap cover and pin in place as marked on pattern piece. Stitch close to top edge of strap cover, securing strap loops in place.
Thread stitched end of one strap through middle bar of strap adjuster as pictured below. Be sure right side of strap adjuster is facing upward. Overlap end 1.5″ back onto strap and stitch in place with a narrow rectangle or two rows 1/4″ apart. Thread opposite strap end through adjuster loop, and then through each side of adjuster bar as pictured. Stitch end to top of back to secure in place. Repeat with remaining strap.
Press one short edge of each zipper tab 1/2″ toward wrong side.
RST, place pressed edge of one zipper tab just above zipper top stop and pin in place, with raw edge that was pressed toward wrong side toward top of zipper. Stitch along fold line. Repeat with remaining zipper tab and opposite end of zipper.
Sandwich zipper between front top main fabric and lining, with zipper and main fabric RST.
Pin together, matching straight raw edges of main fabric and lining with edge of zipper tape. Stitch along pinned edge, 1/4″ from raw edges.
Place wrong sides of main fabric and lining together and press flat along seam.
Repeat steps above to attach opposite edge of zipper tape to front bottom main fabric and lining.
Stitch front main fabric and lining together around entire outer edge, 3/8″ from raw edges.
RST, place short edge of main fabric gusset piece together and stitch together, starting and stopping 1/4″ from each end. Press seam allowance open. I was *just* short of the beautiful floral fabric when cutting my gusset, so in the photos you’ll notice an extra seam line where I had to piece it to get the length needed.
Using seam as one mark, make small 1/4″ perpendicular snips in raw edge on each side at opposite halfway mark around gusset.
RST, pin gusset seam to bottom point of back, and mark made in previous step to center top of back. Continue pinning from the bottom point upward until the upper back curves, where they begin to be more dramatic (remember to ignore the extra seam in my gusset).
Make 1/4″ perpendicular snips every 1/2-5/8″ along unpinned raw edge of gusset. Pin snipped edges to upper curves of back.
Stitch along pinned edges, attaching gusset to back. For more stability, backstitch at the top inward curve on each side.
Clip seam allowance of upper curves on back, clip a “v” shaped notch into the top inward curve, and press seam allowances open (it will be tricky but a pressing ham is helpful if you have one).
Attach lining gusset to lining back using same method as described above.
Wrong sides together, place lining back inside of main fabric back, pinning together along unstitched raw edges of gussets. If lining it sitting too bulky within main fabric, you may want to go back and clip/trim the seams as needed to reduce the bulk. Stitch together along pinned edge, using 3/8″ seam allowance.
Treating the back main fabric/lining pieces as one, attach remaining edge of gusset to front using same method used to attach back and gusset pieces together. It will be bulky to stitch through, but using lots of pins and stitching slowly will keep you stitching smoothly!
Turn backpack right side out to ensure that seams have been clipped enough to lay nicely and form nice curves. Clip/trim seams as needed to reduce bulk. Turn backpack wrong side out again, and, beginning near bottom point on one side sandwich bias tape around exposed raw edges and stitch close to folded edges of bias tape, ensuring stitches are reaching bias tape on both the bottom and top. Stretch bias tape gently around the curves, and continue sewing until top inward curve is reached. Backstitch and cut bias tape, beginning again with new end of bias tape, and continuing until bias tape overlaps first end sewn, forming a mitered corner at bottom point.
Turn backpack right side out once again, and you are done!
Great job!
Now find your little Valentine and fill the backpack up with goodies for her to enjoy!
Be sure to check out more patterns in our shop!
Oooh! It’s so cute! What a great idea. I’m sure my girls could use a new backpack or two!
Thanks Sherri! Can they ever have enough backpacks, hehe?!
How SWEET of you to share this pattern. I have three granddaughters….I had better RUN to the sewing room. An adorable project. Thanks again SEW much.
Yay!!! Lucky granddaughters!
I normally don’t post comments, but this is probably the best set of pictures and instructions I’ve seen in a long time and I’ve been buying online patterns for years. Well done
That is such a nice compliment, thank you so much!
Abby this is so darling! I pinned it to my 2016 Sewing Plans Pinterest board, and I think this one’s going to happen sooner rather than later!
Thank you Audrey, I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
I agree with Cheryl! Well done. And your model is such a cutie!! Thanks for sharing!
I appreciate that, Sandie, and you are very welcome!
Love this!! Can we sell the finished backpacks?
Thank you Mary! All of our free patterns are for personal use only :).
Oh, my! How CUTE is that backpack?! Thank you for the pattern! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
This is so clever and so so cute. And oh boy your daughter is a super star. Adorable!
Thanks Mie, she definitely thinks so, hehe ;).
Abby!!!! I am so so in love with this!!!
Thanks a million Jess!
So cute. Another item to add to the ever growing list of things I want to make this year!
Aw thanks Michelle!
Holy cranberries, this is FANTASTIC!
I am thinking of making one for me, as a purse for Valentine’s Day. My husband is taking me to the symphony to celebrate our Anniversary (late) and Valentine’s day. This is just perfect!!
Goodness. Just when I think your posts cannot possibly get better, you do this!
Well done, Lady!
Ooh, what a fun date! We usually celebrate our anniversary and V-Day together too cause our anniversary’s on the 28th! And you just made me feel like a million bucks, so thank you thank you thank you, friend!
So so adorable!
Thanks Delia!
This is so cute where did you get your strap adjusters?? I am having the hardest time finding ones like the ones you have.
Thanks Dina! I ordered them from here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/beingbags
So cute! I have a Craft Gossip post scheduled for later today that features your free pattern: http://sewing.craftgossip.com/?p=86320 –Anne
Oh My! I can’t wait to make this for my granddaughter, she is going to love it!
Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Perfect Tutorial.
You are very welcome!
oh my gosh i LOVE this Abby!!!! so adorable, you did a fantastic job!
Oh Abby, this is the cutest! I love it!
Amazingly cute…pattern and your model:) I have to try this for my little ones for vacation. I love following you..you are always an inspiration to get back to my machine.
What an adorable little girl, she is just so cute… I love how she modeled the backpack. I also love the backpack and thank you so much for offering the pattern, and showing us how to make it.
That is great!!!!
Such a cute back pack! I am making one for my grand daughter and grand niece. I bought the D-rings, do you have any suggestions how to attach those properly? I can’t visualize what I need to do.
What a cutie! I love the backpack, too! Thanks so much and you have solved my birthday gift quandary for my grand daughters this year. They will be SO excited! One pink and one purple and so much excitement. Can’t wait! :)
I love this backpack! I just found this on pinterest and will be making it soon.
Thank you so much for sharing the pattern.
P.S. The model is ADORABLE! :-)
knitterie1 on pinterest and twitter
Thanks so much!
When I click on the link to print the pattern, it doesn’t work.
Hi Diana – If you click on the link, it should take you to Craftsy, where you can create a free account and then download the pattern for free. The link is working for me, maybe try clearing the cache on your browser or refreshing the page?
Hi Abby.So happy to find your blog on Pinterest. I so heart this project so I included it on my round-up post about sewing projects you can make for your daughters. You can see the post here, http://sewingmadesimple.net/15-sewn-valentines-gifts-your-special-little-girl-will-love/
Please let me know if I missed something about your blog and do let me know if you want to change or add anything.
Xoxo,
Amber
P.s. I’m a new fan ;)
I could only find D-rings for this pattern but I am having trouble making them work. I have a total of 4 rings but I’m thinking I might need 6, 2 for the front of the strap and 1 to attach the strap to the backpack. Am I doing something wrong? Thank you, Patty.
Hi Patty! If you’re using D-rings, you should just need 2 for each side, which would both be attached to the bottom loops. Then the long straps can get threaded through and then back up again to secure.
I bought D rings for this project but not sure if I attach them the same way. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you!
Hi Patty! You would attach two D rings to the bottom loop, then you can just thread the long straps each through the D rings and back through one again.
Oh this is so cute! Thank you for sharing, I will sit down and try it straight away! What a great gift for a little girl!
That backpack is very cute but not compared to the sweet little model. She is truly adorable.
Thank you so much! I have to agree, hehe ;).
Love your pattern ! Thank you so much for sharing it
Thanks Imal!
Should I be adding 1/2″ seam allowance to all the cut outs? Straps and what not as well? So confused at this part! Hopefully I can hear back from you soon, have everything else ready lol Thanks!
Hi Robin! All of the seam allowances are included in the pattern pieces, and the strap measurements given are what you need to cut, also including seam allowances. Hope that helps!
What an adorable backpack, I can’t wait to make one for my granddaughter. Thanks for sharing this project.
Thank you Angela!
Hello! This is an adorable little bag! I would love to add it to my shop but I see you have it for personal use only. Do you offer an option to buy it or to buy a commercial license? Let me know if there’s something we could work out! Thank you!
Abbey, when I saw your post on bunny toddler backpack I thought it was incredible; however, this heart backpack I loved it even more. You just keep raising the bar every time. Thanks for such a fantastic backpack tutorial.
mashaallah!!!sweet girl=))thank you very nice pattern=)
ı will sew for my girl too;)
Hello Abby, I am not sure you are still taking comments on this tutorial (which I love by the way.) But as look at the attachment of the gussets I get confused extremely for some reason. To me it looks like you somehow sandwiched the back side (strap attached side) hems inside the gusset. Then on the front side of the gusset you sewed bias tape to cover the hem (that part makes perfect sense to me.) I just can’t seem to figure out hid the first hemline inside. Your answer will probably give me an oh duh moment, or perhaps I haven’t had enough coffee yet this morning, either way, please help me figure out how you did this!! Thanks so much. P.s. I want to make one of these bags for my Abby. :)
Hi Cass! The straps are indeed sandwiched between the gusset and back of the bag. They’re sewn to the right side of the back of the bag, and then once the gusset is attached, and everything is turned right side out, the seam will be hidden where the straps were attached. Does that help? :)
Than you so much for sharing your pattern. It’s lovely!
So glad I found this post!I am thinking of making a birthday present for my little girl and this one is perfect!Thanks for sharing.
Hello from Malaysia. This is absolutely adorable ?❤
I was wondering if you offer an option to buy it or to buy a commercial license? Thank you.
Hi Sara! Our free patterns are for personal use only :).
Hi what is the recommended age ? Will it fit a five year old ? Lovely tute thanks:) do let me know
It will fit toddler sized, and up to about 6 years old – you can also make the straps longer if you’d like it to fit even larger!
Well that’s all I had to know about creating a HEART BACKPACK pattern on my own. Now I can create one myself for my little girl. Thanks for sharing.
love this pattern!! just made one for my daughter for all her little things. easy to follow and great instructions. thank you.
kristin_0902
Good Morning
I am so in love with this Heart Backpack and would love to make one each for my granddaughter and great nieces… I have the tutorial now, but can’t seem to get the pattern pieces… I keep clicking the download link but all it does is refresh the tutorial page… Can you help Please?
Kind regards
Robinne
Hi! So sorry about that, there is a glitch that we’re currently trying to figure out with the link, but if you search “heart backpack” on our site, and click the post with no image, it will take you to the correct page!
Hello, This pattern is gorgeous.However I am unable to dowload the pattern for the Cat Backpack and the Heart Bacpack. Am I doing something wrong.Please Help!
Hi! So sorry about that, there is a glitch that we’re currently trying to figure out with the link, but if you search “heart backpack” on our site, and click the post with no image, it will take you to the correct page!
Hi – I love your work and I love your heart backpack and would like to make one for an older girl, would you be able to tell me how to make a large size version please?
I love your blog.
perry94022 at hotmail dot com
Hi! I just finished this backpack! It turned out so cute! Loved the pattern and you dd a real good job explaining. The bias tape on the inside worked well also, Thank you!!
I’m so glad it worked out awesome for you, thanks for using the pattern!
Hi! I just ordered this pattern and when the email came it said “Can’t reach this page. file:///C:/Users/Susan/Downloads/Heart-Backpack-Free-Pattern-Sew-Much-Ado.pdf might be having issues.” I take issues with that! Is there something you could do at your end to help me? Thanks so much. That backpack sure is cute!
Oh that is strange, sorry about that Sue! Our server was having issues a couple weeks ago so I’m guessing the problem resolved itself but let me know if not and I’ll help further!
I am so in love with this Heart Backpack and would love to make one each for my granddaughter and great-nieces… I have the tutorial now, but can’t seem to get the pattern pieces… I keep clicking the download link but all it does is refresh the tutorial page… Can you help Please?
To get any of our free patterns, you’ll need to first click the link under the supplies section of the blog post, and then complete the checkout process. Once that’s completed, you’ll receive an email with the pattern download link. You can also access your pattern by logging into your account (created during checkout) under the “shop” tab of our site. As a note, this is different than entering your email address on our right sidebar – that subscribes you to our newsletter which we’re happy to have you join in on, but is not how you access any of our free patterns 🙂. I hope that helps!
Hi! I am new to backpack making and have some really neat vinyl on hand. Do you think this could be made with vinyl instead of the cotton fabric in your original materials list? Thank you for your help!
You could definitely use vinyl, but it will be a lot trickier to work with simply due to the stiffness of it. The most helpful tip I can give it to clip the curves a LOT, and it will help the pieces go together nicely!
Is it just me then that cannot find a link for the pattern, and every link I click on I get something totally unrelated??
Hi Caz, perhaps you’re clicking on one of the advertisements instead? The link for the pattern download is under the supplies section of the blog post, hope that helps!
I’m making this cute backpack but the gusset is to small what is wrong? I fallowed all the measurements.
Hi Melody, the gusset and front/back pieces will be the exact same measurements along the seam line, which is different than the cutting lines/raw edges. So be sure that you used an exact 1/2″ seam allowance when sewing the gusset ends together, and make small snips as pictured to allow the gusset to curve and fit along the seam line. The video tutorial might be helpful with this!