Stashbusting - Jeans upcycled into fun purse

In this project, all my favorite things: denim, a cute purse, upcycling, awesome fabrics and even beads! It's no secret, I love making purses and I looove a challenge. A couple of months ago, one of my friends sent me a few ripped jeans done in by her children after I ran out of old jeans. The first transformation was the twirl skirt for Bug. This is the second pair, which had been cropped just below the knee before landing in my stash, so there was no extra to work with. 

The little embroidered flowers gave me the color scheme : denim + pink + chocolate brown. 

 

I did some stash diving and pulled out this lovely pink and chocolate damask style print I grabbed a while ago from the remnant bin at JoAnn's and a piece of leftover denim from my bike basket yielded the bottom piece and the shoulder strap.

I cropped the pants a bit below the crotch and recreated a straight seam after cutting off the excess fabric. Then I cut a piece of denim to make the bottom of a bucket shape bag.

 

Then I made the lining using the same measurements with the damask, adding 2 inside pockets from the  last of the pant legs. Yes it's been used to the last scrap. 

I generally put magnetic snaps for handbag closures but for a bucket bag it didn't really work out so I opted for a draw-string closure made with ribbon and beads. 

Old ripped jeans : zero dollars

Ribbon and fabrics from my stash... hmm about $3 dollars

Giving new life to old jeans : priceless!

What I have been up to - Weeks 36

I thought this week would be quieter after all the commotion of last week ( earthquake AND hurricane the same week .. wow). Well there has been more commotion. At work. My new boss quit, barely 4 months after taking over the department. The news was a bit of a shocker. We'll see what this all brings. Hopefully good things for the team. Bug had a good first week at school despite a bit of a snafu with lunches. 

Busy week on the home front too: my hubby and I finished staining the deck posts, the terrace and deck handrails and re-organized Bug's bedroom a bit. I also tackled the ever growing problem of my closet and dresser. The long overdue task that resulted in a large pile of donations and a trash bag of odds and ends and I found a few "long lost" items. 

Then this morning my hubby finally admitted we needed to do something after what was one morning too many waking up sore. Off we went to buy a new mattress. Bug had a great time "helping " us test the various models. We settled on a firm support mattress which will be delivered tomorrow. I CAN'T WAIT. My back has been a mess since we came back from France!

I did find some time to craft. Another pair of jeans has found another life and I've started putting together a new necklace. Pictures to come soon. I also finally pulled out my corduroy stash to make a fall/winter dress for bug. It's coming along nicely but I had to stop because I need my little model to check the fit. Time to go to bed... this long weekend went by way too fast

Denim - Pants into cute skirt

Lately all the sewing that I managed to do was "utilitarian": Clothes marking for school, hems and repairs. Nothing fun. I was putting away some fabrics and bumped into my stash of old jeans. That's when I remembered seeing this cutie skirt:

I figured I could make one for bug. I grabbed a pair of jeans with big holes on the knees, cut them off just above the crotch and removed the ruffles on the back pockets. Then I pulled some cutsie fabric from my stash and my ruffler foot...

 

And an hour later ...

Bug did not hesitate much to model

She announced she was going to wear it for her first day at school, too bad the first day has been postponed due to the aftermath of hurricane Irene, Bug had to wait one more day to wear her new skirt.

Denim project: A bike basket

This is my new bike. The hubby and I (with bug in tow) have been riding as much as my health issues have allowed in the past 2 months. It's a fun family outing and good exercise that is easy on the back and knees. 

And Bug loves being the princess in the trailer carriage

We live in Maryland, where temperatures are well over 85F over the summer months. I needed to be able to take along a drink, Without having to reach down on the frame (sure way for clumsy me to fall flat on my face). And then there is question of where to stash the cell phone (yes, the geeky me has a ride tracking app on the iPhone), the bike lock and some cash just in case we decided to stop somewhere for a snack. The answer: a bike basket. 

I turned to the blogging world for ideas and stumbled on the excellent tutorial made by Anna on Noodlehead. I had to make a few alteration to accommodate all my goals. No mystery about my love for denim. Sturdy, fun and versatile.

This is the first incarnation. After a couple of uses I decided to add a handle to be able to easily carry the basket when not attached to the bike (I have to remove it to load the bike on the car's bike rack)

I added an inside pocket with a snap

 

Large enough to fit my iPhone and some cash

Here it is on my bike

And it's big enough to fit a large bottle, and with a handle sturdy enough to carry it if necessary

I love it

  

Tutorial - Anthro inspired Denim Farfalle bag

I'm very excited to share my latest handbag creation, a project I recently guest-posted on Someday Crafts. A few months ago I fell in love with this Anthropologie handbag: 

The Farfalle Handbag

Did you know that Farfalle means butterfly in italian? Unfortunately, a three-hundred dollars purse, even this cute, does not fit in my budget. No matter. I decided to make my own. Not in leather but in denim. And here's is how:

Supplies:
NOTE: Measurements account for 1/2inch  sewing allowance around the sides and bottom seams
- Two pieces of 16x12&1/2 inch denim- new or upcycled (new will be stiffer than upcycled)
- Two 3x25 inch strips of denim for the handles
- Two pieces of 6x12&1/2 inch of your choice for the lining, cotton or satin
- One 2x3 inch piece of card stock for the bow template
- 43 to 48 2x3 inch rectangles of denim for the bows
- 1 yard of coordinating blue satin ribbon
- Fray Check
- Sewing machine and sewing supplies
- Glue gun and glue sticks
- Magnetic snap (optional)
- Extra material for inside pocket
- Medium weight interfacing (optional)


How-to steps:

• Round the edges of your card stock for the bow template 
• Use the bow template to cut the pieces needed for the bows and apply fray check on the edges
• Make an accordion with 4 fold "peaks" on the side that will be up

• With a matching thread, secure the fold by threading through the folds twice 
• Secure with a knot

    

• Cut the pieces of matching ribbon for the center of the bows (1.5" long)
• Put a dab of hot glue on the back of the bow tucks

 

• Put the end of the ribbon on the hot glue let it cool for a couple of minutes 
• Put another dab of hot glue on the end of the ribbon and fold over

 

• You will need roughly the same number of light and dark bows
• You will save time by stitching all the bows then applying the ribbons in batch of 6-8 bows 

Make the bag shell - I didn't make a detailed tutorial for this part as there are a number of very good existing ones around the blogosphere. There is a very detailed one HERE.

• Cut the fabric pieces for the outside shell and the lining
• Sew the outer shell and the lining for a basic bag. 

•  Tuck in the top corners of the outer shell as shown on the picture below i.e. 2" wide x 3" tall
• Pin the sides and bottom of the shell
• Optional step : add one or 2 inside pockets to the lining

•  Add a pin a the corner of your tuck
• Top stitch the fold all the way around

• Once top stitched, the outer shell should look as shown below
• Optional step : fuse the interfacing to the outer shell

• Pin the lining and outer shell right sides together along the top of the bag lining up the side seam
•  Don't forget you will need a hole in the bottom of the lining to turn the bag right side out

• Stitch along the bag opening with a 3/4" seam allowance and turn the bag right side out
• Optional - Place a magnetic snap for the bag's closure using the 3/4" fold of denim as support
• Close the opening in the lining of the bag

• Cut and fold the straps for the bag  as shown - first in half, then fold the edges in like for bias tape
• Tuck the short edges in
• Top stitch all sides of each strap

• Pin the straps about 1 1/2" from the top corners
• Stitch the handles on the bag 

• Layout the bows evenly on the front side of the bag alternating dark and light ones
• For the layout below you need 43 bows (21 light and 22 dark) 5 across by 9 high (minus 2 at the top corners)
• You will need more 5 bows for a tighter layout

• Put a dab of hot glue on each side of the center ribbon 
• Secure all bows to the bag's outer shell

All done - Good news, it cost under $20 even with new denim and interfacing