Years ago I taught wearable art classes, and I’ve always had class samples hanging in my closet, most of them rarely worn.  I did wear this red quilted jacket a lot, and it was starting to show some wear, so I felt it was time to give it new life.  This little bag was the solution.  With this particular construction technique, you sew the lining and the outside of the bag all at the same time, so that they are permanently attached to each other along the side seams.  This way, your lining will rest more smoothly inside the bag, and you don’t have to worry about the lining not fitting quite right, as is often the case.

My finished bag measures approximately 6-1/2″ wide by 8-1/2″ tall, with a 3-1/2″ flap.  For this size you will need a 7″ x 21″ piece each of outer fabric and lining.  I also used a 2″ x 4″ piece for my button loop, and salvaged part of the jacket’s front band for the strap.  I won’t be showing you how to make a strap from scratch this time around, so you’ll need to take that into account when gathering your fabrics.  My lining fabric was a piece left over from another project, and the rest of the bag is made from pieces of my jacket.  I also used some thrift-store buttons.

First, I’d like to briefly talk about how I approached salvaging parts of the jacket for use in my bag.  The size of the bag was based on what I could reasonably get from one side of my jacket front. There was also a band around the front and the neckline of the jacket, and I thought that would make a nice strap. I liked the way the buttons looked on the band, so I decided that they would stay.  I thought my seams might be too bulky if I used fabric from the jacket for my lining, so I chose to use something else from my stash that wasn’t quilted.  I cut out what I wanted and put the rest of the jacket away for other projects.

The construction technique I used for this bag is so incredibly easy! Don’t be fooled by the huge number of photos — I just wanted you to see this from a variety of angles. The directions may sound confusing the first time you read them, so be sure to follow the photos.

I used 1/4″ seams throughout, but your seam allowance is entirely up to you.  Just be sure you add a little size to your pieces if you like to sew with wider seams.

First, cut one each of your lining and outer fabric.  In my case this was 7″ wide by 21″ long (8-1/2″ depth times two, plus 3-1/2″ for the flap and 1/2″ for my seam allowances).

Sew lining and outer fabric together across one end, with right sides together.  Turn right sides out and fold with wrong sides together.  Press seam flat.

Measure the desired depth of your bag (here, about 8-1/2″), beginning at the seamed end.  Mark that point on your lining and fold the remaining lining over to cover the seamed end, as shown.  Carefully turn the bag over and repeat this step on your outer fabric.

(The gold stars are on the inside of the jacket, and are now the wrong side of my outer fabric.  Too bad they won’t show when I’m finished!)

Pin everything in place.

Stitch all the way down both long sides of the bag, through all layers.

Now you will have an open end that has raw edges (this is the flap)….

…and an open end that has folded edges (this is the bottom).

At this point I like to partially stitch the end with raw edges, because it makes it a little easier to close up the flap later on.  So, I usually do about 1″ of stitching from one corner toward the center, and the same thing from the other corner toward the center.  Be sure to leave a large enough opening for turning the bag.  You can clip the corners if you like, just be sure you don’t clip through your folds at the bottom of the bag.

Now, reach into the opening and you will find the seamed edge that you pressed flat several steps ago.  Grab that and pull it through the hole, turning the whole bag right side out.  Fiddle with it until it looks like the photo below.  Press the bag flat, and press the edges of the opening to the inside.

Now we’ll make the button loop. Press the long edges of a 4″ x 1″ piece of fabric toward the center, as shown, then fold outer edges together and press.  Topstitch along the open edge.

Fold and place into bag opening and pin in place.

Next, close up the opening and secure the button loop by topstitching along the edge of the flap.

Now, I’ll make a strap.  I didn’t want a long shoulder strap, so I cut my band to about 24″.  One end of the band was already finished, so I just needed to finish the other end.  I opened the band at that end, stitched it right sides together, clipped the corners, then turned it right side out again.  I then topstitched along the entire open edge of the strap.

To finish the bag, I handstitched both ends of the strap to the back of the bag. I wanted some buttons here, so I added them at the same time.  Finally , I added a button to the front.

Holiday gift-giving in my family has typically meant a frenzied Christmas afternoon of ripping into packages and thowing out a huge bagful of wrapping paper, although in recent years some of us have made a big effort to use sturdy gift bags that can be re-used year after year, and we always save bows.  But if you still object to using paper for gift-wrapping, Shelly Stokes of Cedar Canyon Textiles has a solution for you — the Bossa Nova Bag. 

Shelly, who banned wrapping paper from her house a few years ago, has come up with a beautiful and functional gift bag pattern that uses two pieces of fabric and only a few supplies.  She used paintsticks and rubbing plates on some of her sample bags, with absolutely stunning results, and now paintsticks are on my wish list!  Visit Shelly’s blog for information on where you can purchase the pattern.  If you’re lucky enough to be attending the International Quilt Market in Houston later this month, you’ll no doubt be able to see the Bossa Nova bag in Shelly’s booth (#1160-62).

Several years ago I taught wearable art classes.  A large portion of my closet is devoted to samples that I made for those classes.  These are things that I will probably never wear, and I can’t bear to get rid of any of it, so I’ve decided to make one-of-a-kind handbags out of some of them.  Here’s a stack of vests, including one that was purchased, that will be seeing new life as handbags after my move to Little Rock.

If you like the idea of repurposing clothing items that might otherwise be thrown out, take a look at the Felt Sew Good shop on Etsy.  Most of her items are made from recycled wool sweaters.  She has bags, pillows, toys, and lots of other great stuff.  Go there now!

You know those favorite jeans that you just can’t bear to throw out?  I recently had a pair of those, which I wore and washed countless times, until the seat was worn nearly through.  While renovating this house, they finally gave up the fight after too many ascents to the top of a ladder.  At that point, I sadly retired those jeans, but I didn’t throw them away.

I have several projects in mind for my jeans, and the first is a business card case. This could also be used as a coin purse if you choose a more secure fastener for the front. 

For this project, I used one of the pockets.  Now, before you start, keep in mind that nothing is really straight on an old pair of jeans.  If you’re a perfectionist, like me, just let go of that right now.  OK, using a seam ripper, remove one of the pockets. In most cases you’ll be removing two rows of topstitching, so this is the hardest part.

Trim off the top edge of the pocket.  Fold out the turned-under edges of the rest of the pocket and trim them off.  You should now have a neat, flat pocket.

Now, what used to be the top of the pocket (the straight edge), will now be the bottom edge. Decide how deep you want your card case to be. Double that measurement and add 1/2 inch for seam allowances.   Measure the straight edge of your original denim pocket.  Cut a piece of contrasting fabric using these two measurements.  For example, I wanted my case to be 2-3/4 inches deep, and the denim was 4-1/2 inches across, so I cut my fabric 4-1/2 wide by 6 inches tall (2-3/4 x2 + 1/2).  Fold that piece in half, with right sides out, and topstitch along the folded edge to give a clean finish to the top of your interior edge.  This piece will later be placed on the denim as pictured below.

Next, use the denim pocket as a pattern to cut a lining from your contrasting fabric.  Layer all your pieces as follows:  denim pocket right side up, folded and topstitched interior pocket, and lining right side down.  If the edges of the pocket stick out beyond the edges of the other pieces, trim them off.

Secure everything with straight pins, then sew along the edges with a 1/4″ seam, leaving an opening at the bottomfor turning.  Clip the curves to make them lie more smoothly, then turn your case right side out.  Turn the edges of your opening to the inside, and press everything really well.

Tuck a piece of ribbon into the opening, then topstitch all along the edges.  This will secure the ribbon and will give your edges a cleaner finish.  Attach a button to the front of the flap, and wrap the ribbon around it to close.

Notes: 1) A button with a shank works better than a flat button.  It gives you space to wrap the ribbon. 2) If you plan on using a different closure, you may need to work those steps into the beginning stages of construction.  For example, if you use velcro, you’ll want to attach half of it to your interior pocket before you sew all the pieces together. 3) Closure options include snaps, button with a buttonhole, or velcro.