JEANS TO TOTE (upcycle project)
Hi friends,
what are your thoughts on upcycling? Are you a fan?
I must say, I’ve had very mixed feelings on this subject for quite some time because I do think it’s great to reuse materials we already have, but I didn’t really like the look of most of the upcycled items I saw. Do you know what I mean? I wanted an upcycled denim tote, but I didn’t want it to look like I just cut off the legs of the jeans, sewed the bottom seam shut, added handles, and that’s that.
So I turned to my favorite place to gather inspiration - Pinterest, and oh, my goodness! The amount of gorgeous upcycled bags on there is incredible. And granted, many are the kind I wasn’t going for, but then I saw some I really, really loved. And when I paid closer attention to detail on the bags I liked I realized I needed to disassemble the jeans and then sew the panels together almost from scratch.
I decided to use my Chubby Tote bag pattern (medium size) to make my bag and here are the two panels I prepared.
I must say, the process was a bit time consuming, but so much fun! I used a 30 weight thread for all my topstiching as I really like having visible seams all over the tote.
I sttiched the two exterior panels together along the bottom seam, pressed it open, and topsttiched on each side of the seam to give me a nice, flat bottom for the bag.
I then added veg tan leather handles from my stash. Love this combo so much :).
Here’s my tote before I added lining.
And in the background you can see my first upcycled tote I made a few days ago. It’s ok, I think, but looks a bit too much like the original jeans.
I used duck canvas I had on hand for the lining of the bag and I’m loving the finished result.
This tote is unique, fun, sturdy, and has plenty of space for everything I need when I run my errands. I’m really glad I gave it a go and I’m sure this is not the last upcycled project I’ll make.
Do you upcycle? What are your favorite projects?
Thanks for reading!
Wishing you all a happy and creative day. Svetlana
