Jean Tote

new tote bag!

Posted by ♥ Mimi Foxtrot♥

About

I havea pair of jeans in my closet that are...well...have you ever had pants that can never compliment your form and there never seems like a good time to wear it..well this bag were those jeans! (>w

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You Will Need (5 things)

  • Jeans
  • Scissors
  • Fabric (for the lining of the inside)
  • Pin(s)
  • Chalk

Steps (32 steps, 38880 minutes)

  1. 1

    grab the pants and align the legs together. chalk up where you will cut...then cut .
    WARNING: this may be obvious, but when you cut off the leg, you have to be wary and think to yourself whether that's how long I want my bag to be..

  2. 2

    Now it looks like shorts. take the leg and cut al the way to the crotchand to the other end of the leg...the result will end up being a big hole and it would no longer look like a pair of shorts, but a (somewhat ugly) skirt

  3. 3

    Know this step is similar to any miniskirt tutorial...attach each them together and do both on both sides...(READ STEP FOUR BEFORE SEWING)

  4. 4

    NOw, when cutting jeans...there of course will be fraying (you know those dangling thread that are kinda annoying..) so I suggest to fold it...look at the picture...

  5. 5

    if you fold and pin and THEN sew it'll stick and there's no fray...

  6. 6

    OKAY! this Step is direclty for the large jeans ( you know...for the large girls.......>.

  7. 7

    Then pin to look smaller, but still large enogh to put books or stuff in...no worries about the fraying...use the seams as a sort of line to guide you where to sew. for those who hand sew, this may be difficult and may take a while to finish (lucky sewing machine users.)

  8. 8

    after you're done with that you would have technically made a skirt...(at least that's how it's supposed to look at first)

  9. 9

    Okay! align the top of the jeans and pin...

  10. 10

    now, we fix the length of the of the bag..tuck the fabric in and make sure its' the length you want the bag to be...then pin

  11. 11

    OH! and (this is optional also) fold the each opposite edge (look at photo for more details) and then pin

  12. 12

    now pin pin the bottom and sew (I used a blanket stich...very useful) when you're done turn it inside out and trim off excess fabric

  13. 13

    now you have a bag....now these steps are for the inside of the bag...the linen, i think it's called..plus if you plan to decorate your bag I suggest doing it now before preceeding

  14. 14

    now I bought fabric at a store and it's very stretchy...grab your almost done bag, chalk, and scissors.

  15. 15

    turn the fabric on the wrong side and align the bag again (like in step 9) and make sure it's an inch away from the edge

  16. 16

    grab the chalk and outline the bag, but leave an inch apart so you can sew it up with out frays..

  17. 17

    fold the fabric in half and the you can cut

  18. 18

    but leave the bottom part of the bag intact to the other side or half.

  19. 19

    pin and sew

  20. 20

    one more thing...rol up the sides and then sew them Like in my pictureand continue until you reach the part you didn't cut (see step 18)

  21. 21

    when your done it'll look like your denim bag....keep it turned inside out (wrong side out, good side inside) then stuff it into your denim bag.

  22. 22

    make sure that it's covering the bag inside and the good lookin' fabric is the first thing you see inside....

  23. 23

    the frayed edges...tuck them into the bag and pin it around....then sew

  24. 24

    like this...

  25. 25

    and pin them around

  26. 26

    when your done grab the two legs of the jeans and turn it inside out...grab chalk,a pen, or a colored pencil and make a shape for the strap and then cut both sides of the fabric (result=two pieces of fabric)

  27. 27

    align the ends together, pin and estimate how long you want the strap to be...when you have decided cut it of, but keep them pined together still

  28. 28

    ok put the denim strap onto the wrong side of the fabric, pin and cut

  29. 29

    while averythingis pined and frayed, which we dont want, fold the each side of the fabric onto the inside till everything is nice and proper, pin it.

  30. 30

    but before sewing grab that pen, chalk, or colored pencil you used earlier and make a line like in the picture (if you can see it)sew along the line but leave each side with a flap...mkae sure to sew onto the line as well

  31. 31

    once everything is done...postion the strap on the bag and then flip the frayed edges inside, pin and sew

  32. 32

    SO! one strap is done...repeat steps 26 to 31 to make the other strap and your done!...whew~ this really toke a while to make, but I got a new bag out of it and new room in my closet!