A Patchwork Bag And Getting Used To Zero Waste

Hello needleworkers, here I am, the black sheep of the community 😁 Unfortunately I'm missing the #NeedleWorkMonday contest regularly now as Monday is a very difficult day of the week to come up with a finished product, so I'm posting midweek or whatever I'm ready to show you what I've been up to.

Today I want to show you my latest denim tote bag, made of cutoffs. I'm on the mission of saving and upcycling as much fabric as possible, giving them a new life. It is totally doable and I thing we all should work on reusing everything we can in order to stop waste.

Zero Waste

I've been saving these denim pieces, the belt part of each and every jeans I've been working with as it's like treasure for me. Each one has its own pattern, created by the attrition. A part of this comes from the factory, how the jeans are stone washed and bleached, and the other part is due to how it is worn by the owner. I don't think you can find two of a kind and that's the beauty of it.

Patchwork Design

After cutting off the buttons, which will be used for another project, I selected these pieces, trying to mix colors, dark with lighter blue. Each is 39cm long.

For the back of the bag, I wanted something simple. It would have been nice to have the back the same as the front, but that's hardly possible as not all the belt parts are long enough to bet two identical pieces, 39cm each. Because each jeans has it's own belt width, working with different pieces you risk to have 1 - 2 cm difference here and there, which could be unpleasant for some. Better choose a plain back and you're good.

These are my old jeans, pretty worn as you can see. My hear was aching when I had to cut them, but what can you do, better make a bag out of them then throw them away, right?

I needed to put together a few pieces as one piece wasn't big enough, but it was totally doable, plus some color changes always look good.

Carry Straps

This was a bit of a challenge, as I had no idea how long they should be. I mean there are all kinds of bags, some with longer straps, others with shorter straps and you never know what the client wants until you ask them. However, this was not commissioned, so I had to make the decision myself, so i decided to go with 60cm. This is a middle size, you can still wear it on your shoulder, without any problems.

So the straps are 60cm long and the usual 7.5cm wide, with 56cm long and 5 cm wide interfacing, which is absolutely necessary to keep the stripes tough.

Picking the right fabric for the carry straps is maybe the most important thing. You need some good quality, strong fabric and this time I got the best as I've never made such good carry straps. It took me a couple of months to learn how to do it right.

Lining And Magnetic Snap

The lining is simple light blue with dark blue and white lines, and it's 100% cotton, washable in washing machine at 40°C.

Again, I had to make a decision about whether to use a zipper or this magnetic snap. Some prefer zippers, others magnetic snaps but how should I know which one to use? At the end I decided to go with the magnetic snap as there are not many zippers left.

Applying the magnetic snap is very easy. You need a 6cm x 6cm interfacing for both sides, applied in the upper side, in the middle.

Place these pads 4cm from the top and mark the spot that needs to be cut.

It is way more easier that working with a zipper.

The Base Of The Bag

This is again something I had to practice to get it right. YouTube videos have different technique, it depends what you like. I prefer to cut out a 5cm x 5cm square, when the two sides are not joined yet. This way I get a base of 11 - 12cm, which looks good, it give a nice shape to the bag.

It took me a couple of months to learn to do it perfectly and have learned that the measurements must be respected, you need to be precise.

Applying Carry Straps

At 39cm width, carry straps are placed 9cm from each side.

A Little Cheating

As you can see, I'm still marking the sewing line in some cases as it helps me a lot. This is the front and the back of the bag with the corners marked. It really helps me get a better result.

Voilà, the two sides match perfectly! What a relief 😁

Joining the lining with the bag is still the hardest part. This also has to be perfect as this is what everyone sees first. I'm using pins as it's more convenient and reliable but in many cases I hurt myself.