Purse Makeover

While tidying up the box in which I keep my purses, I came across an old purse that was worn on the handles and around the edges. I started to throw it away but the thriftiness in me said to keep it. The inside of the purse (which has a ton of pockets) was in good condition since it didn't get as much wear and tear around town. On closer inspection, it could still be used as a bag if it was turned inside-out since there were no raw edges on the inside. The only thing was that the zipper would be upside-down and the handles would be inside-out. My creative wheels started turning...

Taking the bottom stiffener fabric (a piece of the blue paisley print wrapped around some heavy cardboard) I ripped the stitches out and ironed it flat. Then I cut out two strips from the blue paisley print which I sewed together on the purse to make a binding for the green side. This hid the upside-down zipper. To make up for lack of zipper, I added a fastener out of a little of the blue paisley remnant and a bit of Velcro.

Next I cut of the old handles leaving just a half-inch so that I could sew the edge over and eliminate the raw edges. After adding new handles with coordinating fabric, the new bag is done.


BEFORE

AFTER