Last week I skipped #needleworkmonday for some reason. Not that it's mandatory, but I like it, have been participating in the challenge for so long, then my focus has shifted in another direction, but now it's time to get back to it and post my creations here again. It's time to clear all the waste fabric out of my closets and create something useful out of it.
This bag I started some time ago, on April the 10th to be precise and have been putting it aside, till today. Today I said enough is enough and finished it, so here I am, to show it to you.
This is how it started. I had the front left pocket of a pair of jeans and I thought let's see what I can create out of it. So I started adding different pieces to it, like the part that completes the missing zipper part for example and the sides.
Then I just kept adding and adding and forgot to take photos, till I applied the interface to the front end.
Working with pieces seems easy at first glance, but it has its challenges. There's no way on Earth you can create similar front ends and back ends as each piece is different. Basically you create the design on the go and you have no idea what you're going to get, till it's finished.
However, there should be some kind of consideration when deciding what to use and how. If you have a very "complicated" front end, it's better to have a simpler back end, but it's not a rule, it's just how I think. This time I wanted to have a plain and simple back end, so I chose this pair of jeans, but ... yes, there's always a but and here I had a big one.
Can you see it?
There's a solution for every problem, if you have some experience, so I found one.
Once the pocket was applied, the hole was gone as well and problem solved.
As both sides are made of several colors, it seemed obvious that the carry straps have to be colorful too, so I added some darker parts too.
And here's what I got, after se the carry straps.
The lining gave me quite a lot of headache. Up until now, I always bought good quality shirts from the charity shop, but the current prices, that is not a sustainable option anymore. It's just doesn't worth it to buy shirts at these prices, so I came home with a duvet cover, the one you see above and used it as lining. The whole project is about recycling, giving fabrics a second life, so this will do it. I liked the design of the fabric and I hope it doesn't remind you of a duvet cover :)
I did a lousy job with the progress photos this time. Putting aside the work for a longer period can confuse you and you don't remember what was photographed or not. Anyway, lesson learnt!
And voilà! Here it is! Ready to meet its new owner.
You can wear it on both sides, which is a huge plus as it is as if you'd have two different tote bags and you never get bored of it.
The three pockets that has inside, it can come in handy when you carry all the stuff a lady is carrying every day :)
This is it for today and I'm off to create the next one :)
All the materials used, except the zipper, the interfacing and the thread, are recycled.
If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
