Domo-Kun Backpack

Domo-Kun is an adorable geeky icon, hailing from the beautiful land of Japan. So, being the caring enthusiast, I slaughtered him, and used his pelt to make a backpack.

You need some basic items that can be picked up at any JoAnne fabrics. It cost me about 20 bucks.

- Fluffy brown fabric. It is like the stuff that they use for teddy bears. It cost 10 bucks a yard! But I am wise, and I pulled out my 40 percent off coupon!

- Felt. Red, black, and white. It costs about a quarter for a sheet. I used three sheets in total.

- Either a heavy needle and thick thread or a sewing machine.

- Fabric glue.

- Shoulder straps from an old backpack, or store bought straps.

- Zipper. Either from an old backpack, or bought.

- Scissors.

- Pattern for Domo-Kun's face. Take the images from this step, and print them out on an 8x11 (each image needs a full sheet print), then attach together. It's fairly simple; 4 piece jigsaw. My scanner is currently unfunctional, so I improvised!

- Cardboard. You need support in the face, otherwise it droops more than my mom's does. I was thinking about using a foam or plastic, but cardboard is cheap, and easily replaced.


Fabric Buying Tip (eco-tip):

Nowadays, even fabric is getting an eco-boost. Almost every fabric comes with an eco friendly alternative, including felt which is my favorite material ever. This felt is made from recycled plastic bottles!

Look for labels on the fabric that say something like "Eco-Spun". They're easy to spot, and have almost no difference from the regular fabric.

Put your pattern together, trace, and cut out Domo-Kun's face. Make sure to leave a .5 inch border around your trace. Make sure to cut out the mouth hole.

Also, cut out another "face", except leave out the hole, once again, leave about a .5 inch around the pattern. This second face will act as the back to your back pack.

Last, cut out a very long (I didn't measure) five inch wide strip (or however thick you want your backpack). Make it quite longer than the perimeter of your pack, and trim the excess later.

Cut out two sets of teeth. Each set should have four teeth. Leave a long trail on the end, like in the photo.

Arrange the teeth and red fabric underneath the face, so that they show through the mouth hole. Pin in place, and sew the teeth to the red fabric (it doesn't have to be great, the stitching here won't be seen).

Cut out two circles for eyes. You can just "eye" this. I used a spool from some wire for a tracer.

Sew the felt pieces to the face.

Sew the face onto the 5-inch long strip. Make sure your seams are strong! This is a backpack, and needs to support weight. I went over my work twice!

Sew the back onto the 5-inch long strip on the other side.

You should have completely closed up your project, and there is absolutely no way to turn it right-side-out, right? Wrong (see next step)!

Pin the zipper where you want it, and make a cut in the fabric for the zipper.

Flip the backpack rightside out

Sew in place.

Cut slits in the backpack for the straps.

I added some brown fabric to the straps for effect, you can if you want to, but it is optional.

Sew like crazy. These straps have to be sewn really well, because they bear the most weight.

Use your pattern to cut out a cardboard panel that is the same size. Place this in the front of your pack, so the face doesn't droop, and maintains all of its domo goodness.

Show off your kill by walking around with heavy books.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please drop me a comment, rate, or PM.