String Backpack tutorial (part of our Silver Award Project)

My 8th grade Cadette troop is finishing up their Silver Award.  They worked with the local school staff and school district staff who support families in need.  Our school has a food pantry and provides other support for families who need it.  Our school district provides support for homeless students.  https://www.scps.k12.fl.us/district/departments/exceptional-student-support-services/student-services/families-in-need.stml

We had an event in the fall where younger scouts came and did crafts and had a snack and they donated hygiene items, or canned goods or hand-me-down jeans.  We gave the food items and jeans to our local elementary school.  We saved the personal care items for this project and supplemented the donations by purchasing additional items with troop funds.

One of the girls in the troop wrote up this tutorial for how we made the bags:

Hygiene Bags For Families

1. Get the hygienic products to put in the bag. Including: 1 deodorant, 1 toothpaste, 1 shampoo or conditioner, 2 kid toothbrush (non gender specific), 2 adult toothbrush (non gender specific), 1 container of wipes, 1 floss, 1-2 body soap. 
2. Measure the length and width of your back or someone else’s, in inches
3.  Pick out the type of fabric you want to use, then cut out the length and width from your measurements from step 2, we specifically used quilting cotton 45” by about 15”
4. Then get 3 pins and put them in the fabric along the shorter side of the fabric, and prepare to sew (both ends), this is going to be a channel for the string and make sure there is enough room to go through it twice
5. Go to the sewing machine and make sure to sew with a straight line all the way thru, this will be the top opening of the bag.
6. Fold the fabric in half so that the 2 seams are next to each other, right sides together, and pin.  Sew these two seams - these will be the sides of your bag.  Don't sew through the channel you made in the first step.
7. Fold the bottom of the bag up about an inch or inch and a half and pin it. Sew this edge with a zigzag, it also needs to be wide enough for the cord to fit through it twice. Get nylon clothesline or paracord, safety pin and a lighter
8. Take the safety pin and poke it thru the end of the rope or string you have selected ,start to sting the bag from the top all the way around, then thru the bottom, back to the top and repeat again, then tie a square knot with the ends
9. Tie your hair back.  Use the lighter to melt the ends together, then melted the knot a little to secure it even more.  
10. Gather the hygienic supplies from the beginning and put them all in the bag  
11. Close the bag
12. You’re done!