Friday, January 27, 2012

A Minor Foray into "Fabric Land" Part 2 of 2

Stitching a layer of denim to a layer of PUL...

...and sandwiching in a silken cord.


Turned right-side out and top-stitched...

...with the tie-cord now visible.


Sewing up the side seams.


The finished make-up bag with button and shortened (cut and tied) cord.


The open bag, showing its waterproof, PUL lining...


...and, now, peering inside.


The back side of the bag (opened up)...


...and the front, again, with all of its wrinkles! :)


My daughter had a pair of artificially wrinkled, skinny jeans...

...that had not held up well with wear.

She asked whether I could make a denim make-up bag from them for her...

...that would also be impervious to spills and inadvertent 'blush compact openings'. :)

Since I have a friend who sews her own cloth diaper covers...

...I knew exactly what to line the denim with...

...PUL (Polyurethane Laminate)!

For those of you who have never heard of it...

...it's made by laminating a thin plastic film to fabric...

...to make it washable and waterproof.

It's wonderful for things like re-usable cloth lunch and snack bags...

...but it also has some drawbacks, since it cannot be ironed or put into the dryer.

I stitched the denim layer to the PUL with right sides 'in', enclosing a cord and leaving an opening...

...then turned it right side out and top-stitched the entire perimeter.

I sewed up the sides to form a bag, trimmed the cord to the proper length...

...and attached a button that we had found in a small quilt shop in Bath, England.

It's always nice to re-fashion bits of fabric that seem unredeemable...

...and the detailing on the jeans made for an interesting design on the finished bag!

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31 comments:

Chrissy said...

It looks great. I really must attack my pile of worn out clothes and pull out the stuff that could be cut out and used. I keep meaning to do it, but time seems to just disappear.

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks, Chrissy!! I know...without a 'motivating force' (my daughter), it would NOT have gotten done!!! :)

Andria said...

I absolutely love when things can be fashioned out of old worn out clothes. The make up bag is really great--super cute!

WonderWhyGal said...

Great way to repurpose those jeans. I love how the bag turned out. Good call on the liner too. If she's like me, she will be wiping out the inside a lot. Yes, I am a messy make up gal ;-)

Heather Woollove said...

Andria--I thought it was a good idea, too. I confess that with four daughters, I have acres of used denim stored that I need to utilize.
Ahhh, well...one day, perhaps?!? :)
Andrea--Thanks! Yes...the liner adds a nice functionality.

Melissa Plank said...

Cool bag! I love the wrinkles and the user friendly, wash-ability, another awesome project!

Pumpkin said...

That is such a great way to reuse old clothing. It looks great.

Heather Woollove said...

Melissa--Thanks!! :)
Pumpkin--I'm glad you like it.

Kathryn Ray said...

Very Clever.

charlotte said...

seriously brilliant!

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks, Kathryn!
Charlotte--I'm so glad you stopped by for a visit!
Thanks for your sweet comment!

Carlin said...

I love the contrast of the denim with the shiny PUL, it looks great!

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks, Carlin!! The PUL is so nice and soft, too. Nothing like the vinyl-coated fabric of old!! :)

Anonymous said...

A great use for a pair of fashion denims that were too fashionable to exhibit the main characteristic of the old-fashioned stuff, which always seemed to last for eons. Certainly beyond when one was bored of them...

Anonymous said...

great project!! lovely thought of your daughter to re-use her jeans in this way.

Voie de Vie said...

I love how that turned out! And isn't it great that she asked you for exactly what she wanted ... and recycled? :)

I actually have a small pile of clothes and sheets that will be made into "yarn." After that ... all bets are off. :)

Heather Woollove said...

Rachel--How right you are!!
Kim--I agree---It was a really fun idea of hers!
Kathleen--I'm glad that you enjoyed Deborah's dragon bag!! (I thought you might!!)
Denise--Thanks! Clothing yarn?!?! Will you be crocheting a rug with the strips? (I love those!!)

Vivian said...

You are equally talented with fabric as with fiber. I always try to come up with ideas to re-use my son's out grown clothes, but never seem to get into action. One day!

Spinster Beth said...

Very stylish! She'll start a fashion trend, now!

Unknown said...

What a great repurposed project! I used an old pair of my husband's jeans to make a library book bag.
http://littlehomesteadinthedesert.blogspot.com/2010/04/library-book-bag.html

Heather Woollove said...

Vivian--You are too kind. I have to have pretty much encouragement to do a sewing project these days If it 'serves' a felted project, it's easier, but otherwise, I can always find something I'd rather do with felt! :)
Beth--Hahaha...thanks! :)
KC--Yours is a much harder project to do...with all of the waistband to sew through, etc.!! Mine was pretty much using a pair of jeans merely as denim 'yardage'. :)

Linda said...

Heather, this is so wonderful, I must show this to my daughters.
Have a wonderful weekend.
xo
Linda

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks, Linda! I like sewing projects that are pretty straight-forward and easily accomplished! :)

Jocelyn said...

Very cool! I'm enjoying your posts to FAF, really creative and, well, um, functional. Nice.

Heather Woollove said...

Jocelyn--Thank you!! I am nothing if not 'as advertised'!! Grin.

AllyB said...

Great bag! I like the pattern in the denim it really dresses up the look of the bag. It'd be good for casual or dressy use. I really like your needle case from the previous post. Great idea and your fabric choice was very artistic.

Heather Woollove said...

Ally--Thanks!! Both fabrics were re-purposed, and that's always a good feeling...finding a new purpose for 'languishing' textiles! :)

Anonymous said...

It's perfect, especially with the wrinkles. What would be denim without wrinkles? LOL Good job lady!

Heather Woollove said...

Sandie--I like them, too, even though I know that they were somehow 'chemically induced' during production. :)

FeltersJourney said...

Lovely Heather.. a very trendy make-up bag for your young lady x

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks, Deborah!!