As noted by University publication The Heights, virtually every current trend in fashion has one thing in common: personalization. In the wake of the pandemic, we want our apparel to be a reflection of our unique personality and sense of style. That doesn’t just apply to clothing, either — it also includes stuff like backpacks.
Granted, you probably haven’t had much use for a backpack over the past few years. Most schooling has been virtual, and it’s not as though anyone has been making extensive travel plans during the pandemic. But things are going to calm down eventually.
In some regions, they already have. So whether you’re heading to campus for the first time in years, going on a hike, backpacking across Europe, or simply going to hang out at a cafe, why not do so in style with a custom backpack? There are plenty of things you can do to add a personal touch to your bag, even if it’s not custom-made.
Start With a Few Trinkets
Let’s start simple. Spend a bit of time on Etsy, or visit the nearest craft or hobby shop. There’s a good chance you’ll find at least a few pins and keychains that catch your eye.
Grab as many as you feel comfortable using, and attach them to your bag.
Of course, you can take things even further if you want to invest in a bit of fabric glue. This will allow you to make those pins functionally permanent — removing the ever-present risk of them falling off. Alternatively, you could use it to attach a bunch of other craft materials to your bag, such as studs or gemstones.
Explore Embroidery
If embroidery is your thing, why not put that to work customizing your backpack?
You have a few options here. First, you can purchase or create embroidery patches to apply directly to your bag by hand. This is probably the easiest route, and it’s what we’d recommend for people new to embroidery.
Alternatively, you can machine embroider your bag, allowing you to apply embroidery patches or create your own custom monograms/art. As you might expect, this is a bit more involved and complicated than hand-stitching. You’ll want to be sure you’re comfortable with embroidery machines before you attempt it.
Draw Some Pictures
Did you know there are plenty of markers, paints, and dyes designed for fabric? Visit your nearest craft shop, and you probably won’t have much difficulty finding some that are specifically designed for your backpack’s material. At that point, go nuts.
The bag is your canvas, and you are an artist.
Do bear in mind that many of the inks you might use for this process aren’t machine-washable. That means that if you ever need to clean your backpack, you may want to take it to the dry cleaner. Otherwise, all the work you’ve put in might well bleed off in the wash.
Try Tape
If you want to get really creative, why not try something that’s not typically used for crafting? Grab yourself some reflective tape, and use it to try out some neat custom patterns on your bag. Obviously, the trade-off here is that tape doesn’t last forever, so even if your bag looks downright incredible, you’ll eventually need to re-apply once the tape starts peeling off.
Get Something Custom-made
While it’s undoubtedly true that all the above techniques can be applied to any backpack, we think it adds a certain something if your bag is customized right from the start. That’s where BlueCotton comes in. Choose from multiple different custom backpack styles and colors, then take your choice into our award-winning design studio for further customization.
From there, you can apply virtually any custom embroidery you choose, ranging from simple monograms to full-on embroidered artwork. Once your backpack is personalized to your liking, we’ll ship it out to you as soon as possible. From there, you can customize until your heart’s content, until you have a bag that’s truly, uniquely yours.
From pins and keychains to custom embroidery, there exists a multitude of ways to customize your backpack. Which techniques you use and how you apply them is entirely up to you.