Felt Backpack Organizer Insert
Sew a lightweight felt backpack organizer with dedicated spaces for a laptop or tablet, bottle, cables and small essentials. An A4 pattern is included.
Project preview
This video is for members
Join Lulu Ferris to watch the complete class and sew along at your own pace.
What you’ll make
This structured felt insert adds useful storage to a backpack with few internal compartments. It can be moved between suitably sized bags rather than being permanently attached.
It has a strapped divider for a laptop or tablet, a zip pocket, shaped open pockets and a bottle holder.
The photographed insert is used in the Bangkok backpack and also fits the squarer Levi backpack.
What you’ll learn in this class
- Test and adjust your machine for layered felt.
- Shape roomy open pockets with stitched folds.
- Attach a divider with a webbing and hook-and-loop strap.
- Add felt stops to continuous zipper tape.
- Build a shaped bottle holder into the side panel.
- Join the pocket sections, side panel and base.
- Finish exposed seams with optional bias binding.
Choosing your fabric
The class uses felt approximately 3–4 mm thick. This body allows the insert to stand and support its compartments; a softer fabric would not provide the same structure.
Several felt layers meet at some seams, so test a sample first. A walking foot can help feed the bulky layers evenly.
Make it your own
- Use one felt color, combine colors or use suitable remnants.
- Narrow the side panel for a backpack with less depth.
- Add a holder on one or both sides, substitute elastic or omit it.
- Include or omit the base feet.
- Bind the exposed seams or leave the felt edges unbound.
Finished size
The organizer measures approximately 38 cm high, 28 cm wide and 12 cm deep. Compare these dimensions with the inside of your backpack before adjusting the depth.
The video demonstrates how the compartments and structured panels come together while addressing the challenges of layered felt. The included A4 pattern provides the project pieces and finished dimensions.
Pattern & materials
Patterns are included with membership
Active members can download every available PDF and materials list.
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