About: I'm an engineering student at Cornell University with a passion for making things! If you like what I do consider supporting me on my brand new patreon account at www.patreon.com/DanielStabile

If you've been following my account for a while, you'd know that I've been doing a lot of leather work lately. Unfortunately, this will be my last leather project, and instructables, for a while. I want to thank everyone who checked out my past instructables, wrote me comments of support and constructive criticism, and voted for me during the contests I participated in! I'm truly thankful and I'm glad I was able to be such an active member of this community during the past year!

With that said, let's begin the project! This backpack is geared toward my life as a student and was designed to carry my laptop, phone, writing utensils, books, snacks, and a few other small items. However, I wanted to add some cool features to make it a little more special. These include a secret pocket beneath the main front flap, protecting it from the elements and thieves. I really like how straps with buckles look, but I don't like having to undo buckles every time I want to open the bag, so I added magnetic clasps! Because of how easy it was to open the magnetic clasps, I included two hidden zippered flaps at the top of the bag as another step of security. I also wanted to include a holder for my favorite water bottle and due to its unique shape I was able to do this with only one strip of leather. You can simply leave this out if you don't want a bottle holder, or adjust the designs as necessary for your own bottle. Finally, I knew that I had to include the lash tab (or pig snout) as decoration and a way to hang more things from my backpack.

As usual, this project is geared towards people without professional leather working tools. All the stitching holes have already been marked and everything made to fit. The entire project can be made with basic tools that you should already have around. The rotary punch is the only exception, but you can simply replace it with a nail and a hammer.

All these designs were created in Adobe Illustrator and will be provided as a PDF in the step below!