Two Toned Upcycled Denim Bag

Today it's Monday, aka #needleworkmonday and #fruitsandveggiesmonday. I posted my entry to @lenasveganliving #fruitsandveggiesmonday challenge earlier today, you can check it here.

Now I'm going to show you my fifth handmade upcycled denim bag for #needleworkmonday, founded by @crosheille and hosted by @muscara, @shanibeer and @marblely.

Fabrics Used

For this one I've chosen a black denim with golden fiber. Unfortunately the photo is not really showing the true color of the fabric, but there will be other photos that are better than this one.

It was a brand new pair of jeans, excellent quality with nice right side and wrong side as well.

Here you can see the contrast between the right side (dark) and the wrong side. Perfect contrast to use.

The lining was a bit of a puzzle for me as at first I wanted to go with this claret one but changed my mind after 2 minutes. I don't know why but for me it looked like it wasn't really a match.

Instead of the claret lining, I decided to go with this one.

The Process

First I cut the bottom as I have a plan for those, just need to collect as many as I can. Stay tuned as there's going to be a post about it once it's finished.

The two parts are not even as the front side of the pants and the back side are not even either, so my plan was to have one narrow and one wide and the opposite on the other side.

The upper part is also one dark and one light.

In order to match the pattern I created, I had to make the straps accordingly, half dark, half light.

The carry straps are always a research for me. In most of the tutorial videos the interfacing is sized to cover both sides but in my humble opinion that makes the straps to rigid.

Therefore I decided to apply the interfacing only to one side and make it more flexible. 2.5cm is enough instead of 5cm. Like this.

This is how it looked after putting together the pieces and sewing the tripe together.

Working with two toned fabric and one very light was and still is a challenge for me as I'm a beginner and straight lines are not always easy. At first I thought I'd use some kind of trick to avoid complications but then I thought the longer I'm avoiding trying it, the longer it will take for me to learn it. So I took a deep breath and voilà!

Not perfect but acceptable. It's a start.

This is how it looked after sewing the two big pieces together.

After some thought I decided to use this shirt as lining. I believe it matches the fabric better than the other one.

The Lining

Till now, the last four bags have identical lining style as it's easier to do the same every time, plus making three pockets seemed like a good idea. My experience till now is that bags never have enough inside pockets and the only one they have is not strong enough to hold what I need to carry. This is why I decided to set up my bags with plenty of pockets and make them strong enough not to brake at first use.

This time however the shirt designer made me take another path. The shirt had this nice pocket, actually had two nice pockets like this. Would have been a shame not to use it.

These are the two pieces I could salvage. Perfect for two double pockets.

As much as I loved the pocket covers, it would have been too much and a trouble for anyone, so those needed to go. Maybe I can use those for another project later.

This is how it looked after sewing the pockets together and with the lining. Four pockets, two big and two smaller one.

The Zipper

The zipper is still a challenge but it seems like I'm getting used to it.

Even though I don't have the necessary piece for zippers, I've managed to find a way to deal with it and make it work.

This is a better photo, you can see those shiny particles, that's the golden thread.

This is the other side of the bag.

The inside, that I'm so proud of. Love it! I'm going to use it from now on as it's easier and makes the bag more interesting, unique.

You can use the small pocket for your ID, passport, driving license. The big one for your phone and other items.

These are the pages of an old book. So I guess a notebook is going to fit in the big pockets.

This is the other side. No pockets here but after creating four on the other side, I don't think any is needed here.

I'd say this is the best bag so far, I'm happy how it turned out and confident that I can improve with every bag I make. It's a learning curve and there's still a lot to learn, but I love it.

So this is my entry for the #needleworkmonday challenge.

image source

Check out my other sewing posts:

• My First Bag
• Upcycled Double Pocket Denim Bag
• Upcycled Double Pocket Tote Bag, My 3rd One
• Upcycled Denim Zipper Bag
• Handmade Mask - Experience and Necessity