Saturday, November 21, 2009

belated

The curse of the do-it-yourselfer strickes again: I want to make something meaningful, cute, and earth-friendly as a gift for someone I love-- in this case, my sister Erin. So I do.



Trouble is, it gets finished 4 months too late. Her birthday was in July.



Sorry Erin, will you ever forgive me?













All the components for this bag came from the thrift store: a cable-knit sweater that I felted, a silky polyester blouse (for the lining), and a thick braided leather belt. Oh, and the magnetic snaps came from an old purse I've had for years and recently started cannibalizing for parts.


The hem of the sweater became the top edge of the purse. I left the buttons on the blouse-- thought they'd be a cute reminder of the origins of the purse.


Minor detail: I still need to take it to a shoe repair shop to have the strap sewn on. If you look closely at the second picture, you'll see a pin poking out. Yikes! I purchased leather needles for my sewing machine and got one in and ready to go, only to find that my presser foot won't lift high enough to get a few layers of sweater and leather in there. So, the the shoe repair shop we go...


But I'll have it done this week Sis. Cross my heart and hope to die.






8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely bag - really like the idea of using a belt for the handle. Makes it look very upmarket!

Lindy Johnson said...

beautiful! i love the pop of blue inside. your sister is lucky.

Andi said...

I'm drooling! What a cute idea! Maybe I need to go visit a thrift store too...

Erin said...

what a lucky sister you have! your purse is great. i love that it is 100% upcycled stuff. i never would have thought to ask the shoe repair man to sew something. what a great idea.

also- i have no idea how to felt wool. or what that even means...

Emery said...

for a bag that cute, ANYTHING can be forgiven. it's absolutely darling!

Bloom said...

That is so darling! A+!
anne

julie said...

I love felted sweater bags. The pleat adds a nice touch!

Laura Argelati said...

I love it!