Bunny Bag and Pencil Case

I turned this much loved jumper into a tote bag and pencil case.


The original, front
and back.

Measuring the largest square i could use.
The cut fabric.

Cutting stripes of fabric for the handles.

Sewing and turning the straps inside out.

Assembly stage 1: sew the sides together.

Stage 2: sew the bottom corners of the bag at a diagonal to square off the bag. As indicated by the pins in this picture.

Stage 3: sew the handle on the bag and you have a cute new bag!


To utilize the rest of the designs i made a pencil case from the remaining bee and hive. I cut a rectangle as long as the zipper i had in stock and wide enough to include all of the design.

Add the zipper
and presto a new pencil case!

Tie Skirt

I thought it would be fun to make a skirt out of ties so i found a lot of ties on ebay for a good price.

I sorted through the ties and picked out ones that were in the burgundy and silver range. Then sorted them again so that patterns next to each other would be complementary.

I then undid the thread at the back of the tie exposing the lining.


Then you cut out the lining at the desired height about 20 inches or so. I ended up wanting a length of about 17 inches and cut it at about 19 inches so i could fold over the hem.


Place two ties next to each other where you have lined up the two ties along the fold. When you begin to sew make sure the points are lined up.

all the ties sewn together. One tip is that the slippier the tie the more likely it will move around when you are trying to sew it. so when pinning the seam you want to sew in place. also pin the rest of the tie open to the ties that have already been sewn to help you keep things in check.

The back of all the ties. I will go back and re fasten the backs together at some point to have a heavier skirt. other plans indicate cutting of the extra length before sewing it together.

I then cut off the ties part at the height i wanted. you could do this earlier if you wanted i didn't know exactly what length i wanted the skirt to be.

I then folded the top over like an inch or so and sewed that in place avoiding sewing over the first and last tie where i would needed to attach the zipper.

close up of the hem.
sewing the hem.

attaching the zipper. I brought the zipper all the way to the top so when i folded the hem back over the extra length of the zipper would be in the hem. to add stability and a more polished look.

If you don't want to do a zipper you could also do elastic in the waist. , just stitch the ties all the way around in a circle instead of leaving an opening.
close up of the top of the zipper

completed zipper. ready to sew the hem on the remaining two ties. Also at this point the skirt was a little too big for me so i added a few pleats in the top of the skirt when i sewed the hem a second tie to yield a better fit.
The zipper was too long on the bottom so i sewed in a zipper stop at the length i wanted and cut the rest off, per the package instructions.



The completed skirt.

Travel Purse

I needed a purse i could zip up and that would hang across my body. I found a couple of tutorials on www.craftster.org/ that i combined to make this purse. I also didn't want to but anything new so i just used things i had around so it could match better, but i like it well enough.

I used this post for the basic purse design. i made 2 inch corner cut outs to create a square base and the basic square is like 9 x 13. I just estimated something that would be a good proportionally to my body and hold enough things.


Step 1: I cut out two patterns so i could cut them out in one go.

Step 2: cut out the liner fabric using the same pattern as the outer fabric.

Step 4: make pockets for the inside. Use the liner fabric a few inches longer than the final product to add some pleats in it to accomidate the items you wish to hold.


Step 5: sew across the bottom then up the sides and in the center to create the desired pocket sizes.

Step 6: here are the pockets that are filled

Step 6: I cut out a hole a little bit smaller than the zipper and then did a zig zag around the edges. Just before i sewed the zipper on a cut a liner fabric the same size because the liner fabric snags easily on the back.

Step 7: I cut an oppening on the back to expose the zipper. This is kind of a messy look, but i will know better for next time :)


Step 8: I created the zipper for the top following this post. Next time i would add some of the liner fabric in this step for a more polished look in the end. a reminder of how to do this can be found in this post.
Step 9: sew around the outside edges except the top and the corners. Then square off the corners as shown above. Also not pictured at this step assemble the liner in the same way as the outside of the bag while inducing the lining pieces when sewing the edges and only square off one corner to allow a way to turn the bag inside out later.

Step 10. Make a long tube of inside out fabric for the strap then turn it out.

Step 11: Start the assembly process. With the main bag turned inside out push the strap down to the bottom of the bag, pin the straps in the corner to keep them in the desired place.
Step 12: add the liner to the outside bag and strap so the good sides are facing each other. Sew around the top edge.

Step 13: turn the bag right side out through the hole in the lining.

Step 14: square off the corner of the liner. tuck in the outer edges so there are no stray threads.

Step 16: The final bag overall [above] and inside [below]. I also added a little green ribbon to the zipper pull to make it easier to use.