refashioning, recycling, making do with what you’ve got…they all mean the same thing: taking something old and making something new from it.
at the beginning of this month, i talked about homeschooling during the summertime. in that post i mentioned field bags that were made from old pants. this month, i’ve worked on making some for my kids: my oldest daughter got one out of light turquoise corduroy, my oldest son, one out of some old camoflauge pants and my youngest daughter, a salmony pink corduroy.
about the time i was making them, one of my favorite purses was falling apart. it was a simple purse, a rectangle with a zipper on top and a side pocket zipper. both zippers broke, the fabric came unstitched on one side and the cotton string strap broke. it was time to retire the purse.
i’ve had the purse for at least 10-15 years and so i was sad to see it go. i started taking it apart to save the neat fabrics, hoping to use it in another project down the road. that’s when i had an ‘aha!’ moment. i could take some mossy green corduroy pants, use the fabric for pockets or patches and viola! a new purse with the old feel to it. yay! unfortunately, i wasn’t insightful enough at the time to take pictures of the process but i have patched a few in here that will hopefully give a better visual of what i did.
i started by cutting off the bottom of one of the corduroy pants legs. there was some embroidery stitching around the bottom that would add a decorative element to the purse. originally, i just ripped the seams from the bottom, turned it inside out and sewed a hem but the leg was not straight so i ended up ripping out a side and sewing it in a straight line as well. while it was opened up, i laid the bigger piece of old purse fabric on the right side of the seam and pinned it to there. i decided it would become a flat outer pocket, one i could stash receipts and shopping lists in to keep the rest of the purse clutter free.
i straight stitched and then zig zag stitched (oh how i wish i had a serger!) three sides of the fabric onto the outside. on the opposite side, this time on the inside, i pinned the smaller piece of old purse fabric to create a pocket on the inside. i straight stitched it on. the thread blends into the corduroy well and you can’t see the stitches on the outside.
then, i turned the whole thing inside out and sewed up the side and bottom, zig zagging to reinforce it.
next up, the handle. i took the length of the leg and cut 2 5″ strips from it, as long as the length would allow. then, i sewed one end of each together to make a doubly long strip. i ironed down the excess fabric and then sewed up one side and turned the piece right side out. i decided to zig zag the entire strap on both edges to accent the zig zag stitches on the front panel pocket. then, i pinned each end inside the purse and sewed around the edges creating a box.
done! i am thrilled with this new purse of mine. this was a fun project that took me about an hour or so to complete, maybe a little longer because i was making it up as i went along but if/when i do it again, it will go a lot faster!
I have seriously got to have one of those. You just wait until someone wears out a pair of pants I can cannibalize and it mine! All mine!
This reminds me of the bags we used to make when I was in high school (in the 70’s!). We used to take worn out pants and make bags from the top of the pants. The legs were used to make the straps and top flap if you wanted one or even dividers on the inside. They were great and all the rage for the “fashion conscious” teenage girl back then!!! Thanks for bringing up a fond memory for me!
Seeing this purse reminds me a little of making a clothespin bag. My mother always used one, and I use one too – I hang my clothes on an outside line to dry. Clothespins bags are a very handy way to keep clothespins.
I make mine with a long enough strap to go over my head and hang from my left shoulder to my right side. (And a wide enough strap to be comfortable.)
The bag should not be so deep that you can’t reach to the bottom; it should hang so that a quick motion as your hand drops to your side brings out a clothespin.
Also make the front panel of the bag a little shorter than the back panel (and possibly make the front panel a little wider as well). This will result in a bag that naturally puckers open a little, and you’ll be pickin’ in high cotton so to speak. You’ll never fumble to get your hand into the bag or miss it when you’re dropping the pins back in.
Keep the bag indoors on a hook or in your laundry basket . Your clothespins will last for years this way.