Saturday, December 10, 2016

Upcycle: Build a Bag

Love up-cycling: Taking old clothes and remaking them into cool reusable bags you can gift to another is way fun!
  1. From one gently used piece of clothing, cut 2 matching size pieces of cloth in the shape of the desired bag or one long rectangle piece that is 3 inches longer than twice the height of the desired bag 
  2. Cut two 22 x 3 inch strips of material to be used as the bag’s handles
  3. If two separate pieces of cloth, place right sides together and sew ¼ inch seam along the bottom
  4. Pocket bottom seam between the front and back panels 1½  to 3 inches deep
  5. Sew together the front to back panels along sides using a ¼ inch seam, catching the pocketed bottom so to create a nice bottom for your bag. 
  6. Turn bag inside out
  7. Roll top under by a double ¼ inch, pin and iron in place and set aside
  8. Iron handles in half length-wise
  9. Fold edge into center crease, pin in place
  10. Pocket edges of handles inside by a ¼  inch and iron in place
  11. Top-stitch both long sides of the handles
  12. Pin one handle end, ¼ inch deep and 2-3-inches in from the left edge of the bag inside of back panel of the bag.
  13. Pin the other end of the same handle ¼ inch deep and 3-inches from the right edge inside of the back panel
  14. Repeat previous two steps to attach the 2nd handle on the inside of the front panel of the bag 
  15. Finish top of bag by sewing the top folded ¼ inch seam, catching the edge of the handles 
  16. Top stitch the bag around the opening, which will help secure the bags handles 
Wala! You are now ready to go J