Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Turning an Old Skirt Into a Reversible Bag - April Stash Bust Continues

My sister Jene' had a birthday eleven days ago, and finally this weekend I got to making her gift.  I know what you're thinking.  Better late then never though, right?  And don't worry, I don't think she reads the blog, so our secret is still safe.

Before starting Jene's project, I first had to come up with an idea.  And can I just stop here for a moment and say that I'm really enjoying the "April Stash Bust" this month.  Every time I go through my drawers of fabric and supplies, to coordinate a project, stories flood out of those drawers and overwhelm me with wonderful memories.  It seems each piece of fabric has a story behind it.  What a beautiful thing.  Unexpectedly, this has been my favorite part of the "bust" so far.

While collecting supplies for Jene's gift, I opened one of my drawers where I keep old clothes that I hope to repurpose one day.  Old sweaters, dresses, skirts, shirts of Josh's, etc.  And out of that drawer jumped a small, black, velvet miniskirt with tassels.  I picked this hot little number up at a clothing-swap a few months back.  A good friend of mine has these clothing swaps tri-annurally where she invites a bunch of great woman that she knows from all areas of her life.  We all gather at her house and dump out our unwanted clothes in multiple rooms.  From there we basically drink wine, eat good food, and go treasure hunting among all the unwanted items.  And at the end of the night, we bag up all the leftovers and bring them to a Goodwill.  During this stage, I usually salvage once more through the items to see if any might inspire a future sewing project.  Can you believe no one wanted this skirt?

Here's the miniskirt I was hoping to repurpose for Jene's gift.  
(Note:  I apologize for the poor quality of this picture.  My husband took it and when I asked him to make sure the picture was good and focused, well, he must of been watching basketball or something.)

Along with this miniskirt, I used some...
fancy pink and black fabric I had planned to use to make a diaper bag last year, but never did,
a vintage button,
and other bag making supplies I had hiding in my stash (ribbon, felt interfacing, handle clips, etc.)

And while I sipped my wine, sewed, and though about all the lovely woman who attended the last clothing-swap, soon this useless skirt, one again, had a beautiful purpose.


Note:  This bag is reversible.  Above you see the one side, and below the other.



I wanted to use the tassels for something else, other than tassels, for reasons I don't think I necessarily need to explain.  I created this flower out of them and...

... the loops for the handle.



And so the skirt lives on, still a hot little number!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Super cute! I really do love it! It is a hot little number for sure! hahaha
Your talent never ceases to amaze me!

-Kristi

PS- the pendant is beautiful, I love it!

Heather - Dollarstorecrafts.com said...

It looks amazing! I love the coordinated fabric you chose and the way you incorporated the tassels! I like making things out of old clothes... not always the most practical, but always interesting! I made a baby quilt out of some of my husband's old work shirts (way before we had kids - ha ha!), and I love the connection to the fabric that is generated by sewing with previously-loved clothes! Thanks for the link, and I'll include your project in this weekend's stashbusting roundup at DSC.

Kristin said...

I love it! For sure a hot number. I love the contrast of black and a light color. You are goooooood.

Angela Flicker: The Art of Making a House a Home in Utah said...

Thanks guys. I'm blushing. Your words are so kind. I think you've inspired me to go sew some more.

Angela Flicker: The Art of Making a House a Home in Utah said...

Heather,

Oh, a quilt, what a wonderful idea. I've considered doing that with old sweaters. Maybe I'll try! The thing is I too have a little one and oh boy is it hard to balance all the things I want to try, lol. By repurposing clothing, I guess in a way, it helps us hold on to the memories that link to those clothing. Does that make sense? A beautiful idea really! Thanks for including my project in this weekend's stash-busting roundup. That's very nice of you.

Anonymous said...

Hey! I totally bookmarked this bag before you came to visit me on my site! Did you use a specific pattern for this, or did you just bodge it together? I have a dress that I think needs to become a bag. Your bag is awesome.

I'm *very slowly* working on two t-shirt quilts made out of onesies and shirts my two girls wore during their first year. I don't have any expectations of finishing them soon, but I do love every once in a while putting together one or two squares and remembering them when they were so tiny.

I do agree that repurposing lets us hold those memories, in a really practical way. I'm such a pack rat that if I couldn't repurpose things I'd just have boxes and boxes of clothes and fabrics with sentimental value that I couldn't bear to part with!

Angela Flicker: The Art of Making a House a Home in Utah said...

how funny! That's awesome! We're meant to be friends, lol.

No, I didn't use a pattern, I just kind of made it up. I actually told my sister to look with a loving eye because when I make things up, and only make them once, they are destined to have a few errors. That's the learning curve for ya.

Your quilt idea sounds adorable. I've heard of people doing this. I imagine that when we are done having kids, I'll do the same. Their clothes are just so precious and come with so many happy memories.

I'm currently finishing something up that's so exciting. It has so many scrap fabrics that have meaning to me, all bundled up in one pretty picture. You'll have to check back and see. I'll have it done tomorrow sometime hopefully.

Have a good day!

Anonymous said...

Yikes - no pattern, huh? I'm not sure if I'm good enough to just bodge a bag together! But your purse is basically the style I want, with the flip-over top instead of a zipper. But the challenge is lining it - I want to line it with some sort of foam/plush/unknown material so I can use it as a camera purse. I may be out of my range!

Good look with your project - I'll subscribe so I can see the end result!

Angela Flicker: The Art of Making a House a Home in Utah said...

Sorry, no pattern. I could make a custom bag for you through Etsy. You could pick the fabrics and everything. Let me know if you're interested.

Aurelas said...

So pretty! I love the flower accent :)

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