For many students around the world, like those in the Philippines, there are many barriers to getting a good education. Simply purchasing simple school supplies like pencils and paper can be too great a cost for many families.
That's why it's so important that Lutherans in the United States put together School Kits that are distributed by Lutheran World Relief.
Making a drawstring backpack to go with the School Kit can be intimidating. But a Lutheran blogger at Green Eyed Lady has written up incredibly helpful instructions on how to sew a drawstring backpack, step by step, with photos.
The best time to buy supplies for the school kits is obviously in the fall when school supplies are on sale. The items that are included in the kits are easy to find, but the cost can start to add up if you don't get things on sale. LWR changed from a bag with handles to a drawstring backpack type of bag for the kits. In my opinion, it is faster to make than the old bag with handles. LWR does give instructions for making the school bags, but the purpose of this blog post is to show you a way to make them from 60 inch upholstery fabric with virtually no waste.
I like using 60 inch wide fabric as you can get four bags out of about 1 1/4 yards of fabric. If you watch for sales, you can sometimes get your material for $3 a yard or less. Some of prints may not be something that you would use for your furniture, but make great school bags. You can find 60 inch wide denim was well. Make sure that the selvages of your fabric are aligned before cutting. You can see that the fabric I have chosen, when folded in half, selvages matching, is about 29 inches.
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