... and a Denim Knitting Bag

Like many people here in the UK, I've been glued to the TV watching the BBC series Great British Sewing Bee. I am a far cry away from making my own clothes but it has inspired me to get on with a sewing project I've been meaning to start for a while....a denim bag!

I feel should start with a disclaimer as I'm sure much of what I did broke several sewing 'rules' and I just made it the way that seemed logical to me! Anyway, here's what I did....


Materials

• Old piece of Denim clothing (I used a skirt)
• Contrasting fabric (for the lining)
• Sewing materials
• Button, Ribbon, Fabric Scraps and Brooch back for flower (optional)

I turned the skirt inside out and then sewed straight along the bottom. For the lining I used a cream material (from an old curtain!) and to work out the size, I folded it in half, traced around the skirt then cut to size leaving a seam allowance.

I sewed up either side... then after some deliberation I decided that the lining would stop at the waistband, so cut the top of the lining to size and hemmed.

As I was going along, I thought that the bag would be great for storing my knitting supplies in - so made a little 'flap' to hold needles. To do this I took a scrap of the lining material, hemmed the top and bottom and then sewed to the lining. Am glad I remembered to do this before attaching the lining to the bag!

I then had the dilemma of how to fix the lining to the bag (can you tell I didn't fully plan this out to start with?!!). In the end I hand-stitched the top of the lining to the underside of the waistband - mainly so that the thread didn't show on the front.

To make the bag handles, I cut two strips of denim (from another pair of old jeans!) and two strips of the cream material - mine were 3" wide and 20" long. I sewed them together with the 'right' sides together and on the inside with a 1/2" seam. Then turned them the right way round (a knitting needle came in handy for this!) and pressed flat.

Line up the handles and sew to the waistband...

Once the 'structure' was finished I felt like it needed a bit of jazzing up... so out came the ribbon, fabric and buttons!!

For the flower I made a template, cut two large pieces from denim and two slightly smaller from a lime green fabric and stuck them together with Bondaweb. A button completed the flower and I attached a brooch back so that it can be changed if the mood takes me!

I added a bright ribbon around the waistband and toyed with the idea of sewing buttons on the front of the bag, but decided that less is more?! So here's the final version...

I've started using it to store any 'projects in progress' - which at the moment is attempting to learn how to knit!! 

It was really satisfying to make this and am now wondering what other types of bag to try and make! Any ideas?!

2nd May 2013: Update - This post was featured here on Ginger Snap Crafts

21st May 2013: Update - This post was featured here on Family Home and Life