DIY - Handbag

Hello, Hello! Do you like the new look Enthusiastitch? I was feeling like it was time for a change. I realise that I have been AWOL for a couple of weeks but I was taking a break for my birthday. And what a spoiled little urchin I am! My boyfriend, friends and family all showered me with gifts, but the one that's going to make the biggest difference as far as this blog is concerned came from my wonderful Mother and Father in-law.

Everybody, meet Esme.

Isn't she a beauty? I can't even begin to think of the hours I'm going to save from either hand-stitching, or walking to my mother's house to borrow her machine. Joy!

Anyhoo, on with the show.

Along with the new look Enthusiastitch, I'm also going to change the way things are presented. From now on, when showing DIY tutorials I'm going to show you the finished product at the BEGINNING of the post, rather than the end; that way, you can have an informed opinion about whether the tutorial will be of any use to you right from the outset.

So, today kids, we will be making this:

The idea for this project came about when I was searching through my stockpile and came upon this curtain:

I just couldn't picture myself hanging a mustard yellow curtain, and I also didn't think it would work as clothing, so bag it is!

You will need: Your fabric of choice, scissors, needle and thread (not pictured), measuring tape, a button, and some way to mark your fabric, I used a marker.

Now bear in mind, not every fabric will be suitable for this project. Think tough, think outerwear. Denim would be fine, or corduroy, or wool. And, as this bag is assembled from a number of small pieces rather than one big piece, you don't actually need a lot of yardage. A pair of jeans would work just fine.

Step 1: Fold the fabric in half so that when it comes to cut, you will cut two pieces together. Measure out and draw a rectangle measuring 24cm x 16cm. I found that using a book to draw against was the easiest way to create a straight line.

Draw two rectangles on your folded fabric.

Step 2: Remembering to cut through two pieces together, cut out your rectangles so that you have four identical pieces.

Step 3: Set two of the pieces aside for now, and take two rectangles, Lay them inside-out on top of one another, and sew along ONE of the longer edges to join them.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 with the other two pieces.

Step 4: Lay these two pieces inside-out on top of one another and sew along ONE of the edges, making sure to cross over your earlier seam.

You should now have something that looks like this:

Step 5: Now we are going to make some pleats. Fold the bag along your most recent seam, this time right-side out. From one end, measure 4cm and fold under. Then fold this corner back over, ensuring that your top edge lines up as straight as possible. Add a stitch to hold in place.

Step 6: Repeat step 5 on the other 3 corners and open the bag back out. You should now have something resembling this:

Step 7: Measure along one of your pleated edges. If you've been following my measurements it should be around 18cm.

Step 7: Double this number. Example, mine came to 18cm, so my new number is 36cm. Then draw and cut out two rectangles of this length with a 5cm width.

Step 8: Fold each strip in half inside-out, along the width; and sew down the long sides. When this is done turn each strip the right way out.

Step 9: Tuck the ends back in so that it is neat and sew shut.

Step 9: Lay your new strip over the pleated edge on the OUTSIDE of the bag and sew in place. This is where I needed to go back to hand stitching because it became far to thick for Esme to handle.

Step 10: Repeat step 9 on the other side and open out you bag. You should now have something that looks like this:

Step 11: My apologies, but for this bit I stupidly forgot to take a picture. You need to measure from your middle seam to your pleated edge. Measure along the outside edge. If you are following my measurements it should be around 25cm.

Step 12: Add 20cm to your above measurement (more if you want a longer strap), and measure and cut out four strips of this length, each with a 10cm width.

Step 13: Fold each strip in half, inside-out, along the length and sew and turn out as you did with the strips in steps 8 and 9.

Step 14: Take one of the strips and lay it on the OUTSIDE of your bag from starting at the middle seam. Sew it in place. You will get almost half of it overhanging on the end.

Step 15: Repeat step 14 with the other pieces so that you have something resembling this:

Step 16: Fold the bag in half, and sew along both edges to have something that looks like this:

Step 17: Sew up the bottom ends to make it a bit stronger and a little neater.

Step 18: Sew together the straps.

Step 19. Place your button as shown below and sew into place.

The last few steps can be simplified if you don't want to make the effort of sewing a button hole (altough in my case, I didn't need to because I took advantage of the fact that this used to be a curtain and used on of the top tabs).
If you want to skip making a button hole, you can simply sew a loop of ribbon or string into place as shown below. Those pesky bits of ribbon that come as hanger tabs in new clothes would serve this purpose well.

If, however you want your finished product to look more like mine, you need to continue on to...

Step 20: Make a strap using the same method as before, make a hole in it for the button to go through, and sew it onto the back of the bag.

Finished!

And the best part is, it's made from junk so it's totally free!

Total cost: £0.00
Total time spent: approx 3 hours.