Cargo Pants Purse

I’ve needed a new purse for a while now.  I wasn’t too excited to make a new one, so I searched thrift and consignment stores and sales at other stores, but I didn’t find anything that I liked enough to fork out some money.  The main thing that was keeping me from sewing a new purse was the issue of pockets.  I really don’t like making them even though they are not hard.  Then remembered something I had read a couple of months ago about making a water bottle holder for kids out of old kid cargo pants and realized I could do the same thing with a pair of my old cargo pants and I’d have a ready-made pocket on my purse.  Next, I just needed to pick up some fabric for the lining.  I found a print I really liked, which also happened to go well with my cargo pant fabric, in the bargain basement of our local quilting/fabric shop; it was $1.25 for a fat quarter.  Then I purchased some cotton webbing for the strap from a chain fabric store.  For less than $5 I have a cute, functional little bag for myself.

Cargo pants

Piece that will become outside of purse

I removed the seams and then cut into a rectangle as wide as my fat quarter (22") and about 11" tall

I pinned the seams and sewed two stitches, one to create a "sleeve" and the other to close the bottom

I sewed the lining into a bag using the same method.

I didn’t take any other in-progress, but the rest of the steps include sewing the lining bag and the outer bag together  along the top edge with one inside out and one right side out, so that the two “right sides” are facing each other and the straps and also sandwiched in between the right sides, on the inside of the bag.  It’s very important to remember that the straps should be this way, otherwise when you turn it out, the straps could very well be sewn on the inside of the bag!  I know this from experience.  You will need to leave a 4″ gap for turning.  After turning them out so that the outside fabric is on the outside and the lining is on the inside and the straps are where they should be, press the bag so that the top seam is nice and flat, in preparation for top-stitching the edge.  Make sure to press the fabric under very well along the gap that you left open.  Top-stitch around the top edge of the bag.  For a closure, I sewed on a metal snap I had lying around, but you can also use velcro.  I considered using a magnetic snap, but my bag ended up a bit shorter than I planned and I didn’t want to position it as low as I would have needed to allow room for top-stitching.

Finished bag

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