Jeans into tote bag

Jeans to tote bag

Hello there; here is my first contribution to refashioned co op!
The inspiration for this one was my friend handing down her young son's absolute favorite pairs of denim shorts, because she couldn't bare to throw them out! I turned them into a tote bag, since she loves shopping! I used a normal reusable shopping bag as a guide

Steps: 1.
Using the top of the pants, cut along side seam across leg to separate front from back and make two square or rectangular pieces to be the front and back of your bag . ( approx 36cm x 32 cm) You may have to play with it to fill in crutch etc, or in this case add two pairs together to get a suitable size but you will keep all the detail such as the fly and pockets
These are the front and back of your bag.

2. Add sides and bottom using either the leg of the pants cut and opened up or contrasting denim ( used another pair of jeans for the little boys one)

4. Add a shoulder strap ( 100 cm) or two ( 80cm) and loop using other leg for fabric and / or contrasting fabric

5. Decorate as required! ( go the old Janome 9000). this allows to cover grease marks etc from the chain, holes etc.




I liked it so much I made one for myself from my eldest son's favorite bmx riding pants.

You can clearly see the little insert to fill in the crutch area. Otherwise being a larger side they required very little work, and all the pockets etc of the jeans are retained, meaning you have convenient pockets.

Now as I'm only learning if you have any comments or constructive advice on this tutorial let me know!
Marianne