How-to Turn Old Jeans into a Sweet New Purse

POSTED BY Corinne Leigh, 15 September 2007

first take out those old jeans hold them so they match up at the top and pin together.

now lay them on the table and smooth them out so the top part above the crotch is as flat as possible.

take your scissors and cut off the bottom half of the jeans making sure to cut off the beginning of the crotch area.

turn this part inside out line up the bottom and pin together.

using a running stitch sew a seam along the bottom then repeat in the opposite direction to enforce the seam.

Now square off both bottom edges by making a triangle shape

sew a sew from one side of your edge triangle to the other...be sure to do both edge triangles.

when you are done and the bag is turned right side out again it will look like this

now, take out your tape measure and measure the width of the inside back part of the bag body from one side to the other. stop your tape measure where the side fold begins.

take out one of your left over pant legs and rip apart one of the seams.

iron out all of the creases in the pant leg.

Use the measurement you just took and mark out your points on the pant leg. be sure that the seam in the pant leg that is still together, is in the center of the points you mark out.

Cut off the part of the pant leg that is above the points you marked out. make sure you don't cut to much. the bottom part is going to be the flap part of the purse. so make sure there is more than enough material to make your flap. then decided how much you need to cut off the top.

then fold in one of the sides starting at the mark you made and going down at a slight angle.

Iron a crease and pin. then do the same to the other side

now place the flap piece in the body of the bag to the point where it is going to be sewn later which in my case the was about 3 inches in.

fold the flap over the top part of the bag.

feel down to where the bottom of the bag ends and cut across about one inch below that point.

Next you are going to sew seams down the both sides of the flap and cut off the excess fabric.

now pin the flap to the back side of the inside of the bag.

Now sew the flap inside the bag using two seams. one along the top where the flap meets the bag. and one along the bottom where the beginning of the flap meet the bag.

now fold up the bottom hem of the flap pin and sew.

next take out that other left over pant leg and cut three equal strips that are as long as possible.

cut a hole in the side of the bag.

fold each of the three strips in half separately then place them together like so. and pull them through the hole.

tie a knot

braid the strips together very tightly.

after you have braided the strips almost to the end. make a hole in the other side of the bag.

pull the strips through and tie another knot.

and you are finito.
woop woop.