Wednesday 24 August 2011

Bag re-makeover

Hello Lovelies ,
 As some of you may recall ,one of my small projects earlier this year , before the blanket bug bit me again, was to makeover a simple thrifted denim shoulder bag. I added felt owl and used some floral fabric to line the flap(as I had to remove the original lining to attach the owl). I also added some pompoms for a bit of fun. You can read about it here. But here is what the finished project looked like back in March.....



Oh , how I love this bag .It's just the right size for all my stuff. Not so big you end up carrying around loads of junk and it's easy to find things.I'm a big fan of across the body bags, great to keep your hands free.
This little bag has been so well used it was starting to look a bit shabby. My owl was made of acrylic felt which did not wear well....



Not terrible but this was the main problem......



The magnetic clasp I bought is so magnetic you really have to pull hard to separate the two parts and this was not good for the relatively lightweight lining fabric.Some repair work was needed .
While I was generally happy with my first makeover I always felt the lining fabric was too nice just to have inside so I decided to cover the out side of the flap in the same fabric.
It was relatively simple to do. I started by removing the torn lining fabric then   and unpicking the owl ,sorry owl .I drew around the flap to make a paper template . Using this template I cut out some iron on interfacing ....



The interfacing stiffens up the drapy fabric to make it suitable for this project. Here it is ironed onto the fabric..



Next I cut out the fabric adding  a generous seam allowance,placed this over the outside of the flap and pinned in place( that's the inside of the denim ,not the interfacing you can see...you can also see the remnant of the original blue lining and you will notice I haven't neatened the edge of the fabric as it will be covered by the lining).......



I then hand sewed this to the flap through the seam allowance and denim only, so no stitches were visible from the outside.
Next I removed the clasp from the original lining fabric and attached a denim patch for extra strength. ,before hand sewing the lining back in place.....



The denim could really have done with being darker but I couldn't find any at the time and wanted to get my bag back in use ASAP.Can you see why I wanted this fabric on the outside too...it's just so pretty and as I've had it in my stash since the 80's it's practically vintage .

The one day I had to use a subsitue I really missed it's practical ways :0)
So here is my humble bag with added floral goodness.....



That's better , but maybe more flowers would look even prettier? What about a little crochet and some buttons ? ....



YES ....I love  how it's turned out .
Last time I added pompoms to dangle on the side but they eventually got pulled off...so this time I'm trying beads.....

These beads are also thrifted ...from necklaces and bracelets I've picked up for pennies to build up a stash.

As you can see from the back ,the flap is the only floral part , but I love the combination of the fabrics ......




Here I'm modeling it in the garden , I'm so glad my favourite bag was salvageable .


It goes well with my cut off jeans , which are on their last legs but I'm doing my best to keep them going too :0).....


So what do you think to my no spend makeover?
The boys preferred the owl but like the beads. I like both but I think I prefer the prettiness of this version over the cuteness of the owl .


Hope you all have a great day. I'm off work this week and it's great being at home with the boys. We have bought uniform but still have school shoes to get...not today though....going to the park to meet up with my Anti natal mums...don't see them often and it will be great to catch up , though they don't get my crafty ways like you lovelies do :0)
Jacquie x

P.S. thank you to all of you who have commented to my crochet toadstool...I'm hoping to publish the pattern when I get the time ...but it may be a few weeks.
I'm the mean while do check out Anaboos fab version ...with pattern and inhabitants ...love it:0)

32 comments:

  1. Another fabulous makeover Jacquie!
    I love the matching patch on your jeans too!
    Rachel x

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  2. Looks great, Love that fabric.
    Gillx

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  3. It's great, the crochet flowers really set it off.

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  4. Love the floral fabric! Great job :)

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  5. Beautiful, that's the kind of bag I would carry with me everywhere.

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  6. Great makeover! Go you! Poor owl though...
    Esther.

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  7. Both versions are so sweet x

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  8. i LOVE it. I need a bag just like that but havent quite decided what to make it from.

    Some of hubby's old jeans might be a plan!

    Well done.

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  9. Love it but I did love the little owl too. xx

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  10. what a fab make-over Jacquie! I love the little flower fabric too, it is so cute and yet perfectly matching the style and jeans of the bag.

    Very well done!
    Love from Canada, Maaike

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  11. Love it! so unique with the added touches.
    x

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  12. A great makeover.There is a photo on my blog of Jane's crochet blanket in use by one of my grandsons.

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  13. Jacquie you are so clever with all your lovely make-overs, such a brilliant way to waste not want not. Love the floral fabric and hooky ones too xox

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  14. Wow its lovely! I love the little flowers. Just shown the post my daughter and she wants to have a try at something similar with one of her old bags. Take care, K xx

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  15. it's very pretty! I like the three flowers on it :)

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  16. Brilliant! I'm feeling wanty now. :)

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  17. I remember the owl makeover and althoughI loved it I REALLY love this makeover. Yeah I have to agree the beads are fab and like you say much harder wearing x

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  18. Love your second makeover the best. I have a small denim bag that I need to do a makeover on for a project so you have given me food for thought! Hugs Mrs A.

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  19. It looks great! Love the extra patch on your jeans as well :-)

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  20. Oh my word, its even better than it was before - and it was pretty good before :0)
    That fabric is lovely I've used it before I'm sure it brings back memories.
    Kandi xx

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  21. Your bag looks great, lovely makeover, well done.x

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  22. The bag is just lovely and the flowery fabric is so pretty and goes so well! The owl was really cute, but I definitely love this new version even more. And the crochet flowers just make it! :)

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  23. Beautiful makeover.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  24. It's such a great bag! it looked pretty cool before in denim with the owl, but I love it now with the flowery flap and the crochet flowers. Good job!

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  25. What a cute bag, great makeover. I wish I was handier with needle and thread!!

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  26. Looking fantastic, great work and very talented as always!

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  27. I love the makeover - lovely fabric. It was hard to focus on the bag in some of your photos tho - the ones where it's surrounded by gorgeous crochet!
    Jane x

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  28. Ooh I love both the bags but the floral one just pips it I think. I found your blog from following you and your lovely crochet on flickr. It's full of lovely photos and makes - I'm so glad I found it!
    Ruth (*RMH* on flickr)

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  29. Love that bag! so cute!take care julie.xxxx

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