Mama's got a brand new bag!

Sewing along with this week's Refashion Runway theme - Clutch, Tote Bag, or Purse - I decided I needed a new leather, fold-over messenger bag. So I pulled out this old leather jacket I got for free last year, left over from someone's garage sale. It was incredibly soft, well-loved leather, but in an extremely dated form with completely worn out elastic at the waist.

I'm also going to need a strap for my new bag, so I dug out an old leather belt (sans buckle).

I disassembled the jacket and cut my pieces out of the leather - the front and back of my bag came from the huge batwing sleeves, the sides and bottom were cut from the jacket's back, and I re-used the double-breasted panels as a top flap and outer pockets so the snaps still line up for a closure. A remnant of green fabric from a previous refashion was turned into the lining for my new bad. An awl and hammer came in handy to punch holes through the ends of the belt, and then I hand-stitched it onto the bag.

As always, more details and photos can be found at CarissaKnits!