DIY: How to make a purse with jeans

My daughter brought me her favorite pair of denim shorts the other night all upset because the had finally wore out. Not wanting to just thrown them away, we decided that we would “recycle” them and make them into something else that she could use – of course we choose a purse! You are never to young right? So this is all about How to make a purse with jeans!

So I decided to give it a try. I know how to do basic things on the sewing machine – even made a dress once in high school (won’t tell you how long ago that was) but I still remember a little bit. lol. Without much of a pattern or even really thinking it out – I just knew how I wanted it to look so I went with that.

DIY Tutorial: How to make a Purse with Jeans

The first step is get a pair of jeans that have cute designs on the pockets and preferably cute buttons. I had this pair for my eight year old, but then my 6 year old and (almost) two year old daughters got wind of our project and wanted in on it. So I make a quick trip to the DI (consignment store) and found a pair of jeans for each of them that a very cute for only $2 each that we can use to make their purses. I also found a camouflage shirt that I am going to use along with a pair of my husbands old worn out shorts to make a backpack (that project will be posted soon!)

Step 2: Choose a spot that looks even across the bottom and using a Rotary Cutter (make sure to put a Self-Healing Mat underneath to protect your table), cut the legs off jeans. DON’T THROW THESE AWAY! If you don’t feel comfortable “eyeballing” the measurement you can measure it and use a clothing marker or pencil  to mark your cutting lines.

After you cut your shorts in step two – you will want to turn them inside out. This part is pretty easy – just sew along the entire bottom of the shorts make sure it is completely sealed off – (no open holes on the ends).  You may have to pull the jeans through the sewing machine if they get caught up under the foot – just don’t go to fast or your stitching will be way off.

Once you have sewn up the bottom of the purse – your next step will be to make the straps. I use the pant legs that we cut off earlier – and if you have LONG pants this will be so much easier – lol – but I will give directions for both ways. If you have shorts – you will want to stack both pieces together so they match in size, then trim off any extra “overhang”.

Once you have an even side, put the pieces that you want showing FACING each other – so you will be sewing with the insides of the jeans showing. Sew a line down it to make an edge. You will want to make two or three sets of these (depending on how long your fabric is, and why it is better to have long pants). Once you have your pieces cut and sewn down one side (ONLY ONE SIDE) then you will want to lay them end to end and sew them together. Once you have them sewn together – then you will fold it in half and sew it closed on the other side.

After it is a tube – you will have to turn it right-side-out. This is very tedious and may take a few minutes (sore finger warning).

Once you have it turned right-side-out, you will want to secure the straps to the inside of your purse. You can see how I did two lines that overlapped just a little on each side to make it more secure.

(Here I got impatient and just wanted to be done – lol – so I forgot to take the pictures) But I simple took a piece of fabric and laid the purse on top, and measured slightly bigger (about an inch on each side) than the purse. I cut the piece of fabric twice as long so that I could fold it over and use it for the liner of the bag. you will fold the fabric in half – and sew the right side, bottom, and the left side. DO NOT SEW THE TOP.

Once you have the liner sewn, you turn your purse inside out – and with the fabric print facing OUT you will want to sew it all the way around the top of your purse. I just followed the hem line under the waist band. BEWARE OF THE ZIPPER AND OTHER METAL BUTTONS – these will bend your needle and could harm your machine.

Once you have your liner sewn in – turn the back right-side-out and the liner will be lose on the inside. it will be a little big, but you want to give it some play so that it doesn’t get stretched out and rip or put stress on the stitching. You are welcome to put little hand stitches to secure it in, but I like it loose so they can clean it out easy if crumbs or something gets in it.

To top it off I took a wired ribbon (has wire on the edges) and put it through where the belt would go. It would be cute to even find a belt and put it in there. We plan to add little embellishments like flowers or patches as we go – but she is really excited. Already has it loaded with her favorite book, lotion and lip gloss. Oh and her wallet. lol. She is so cute! Now I have get to make two more for my other daughters.

Overall this project took about 1 – 1.5 hours. It was so fun and my daughter loved watching and helping when she could. I really did enjoy it. Here is my little Lovebug showing off her new bag:

I would love your feedback – if you have made one before, or if you try this please let me know what you think! REALLY 🙂

Topic: Do It Yourself – How to make a purse with jeans