Tutorial: Recycled Denim Library Bag

 It's been a chaotic school holiday's in this household and with the start of a new school year just days away, this Mama Bear realised that Miss 9 did not have a new library bag or artsmock ready!

As the traditional printed Kokka Linen fabrics won't cut it anymore for this big grade 4er, I needed to be a little more creative.

Grabbing an old pair of jeans from the rag bag I created this fun drawstring bag suitable for her reader books.  But really it could be used for anything.

• Grab yourself an old pair of jeans and cut off both legs 40 cm from the bottom.
• You will need the waistband with a small margin plus a pocket. 
• You will need you heaviest needles for this project
• Other items include, cord (approx 120cm), a toggle & 2 cord ends

• Unpick the seams on the inner side of leg pieces
• Neaten around pocket and remove the back demin piece, just leaving the outer seam.
• Position your pocket and sew onto of original stitching.

•  Pin the two leg pieces right side together and sew down both sides using the original margins of jeans.
• Turn in the right way and sew across the bottom on front side, over the original stitching.

• Remove any elastic or stitching from the waistband that may prevent you from threading through your cord. You may wish to remove belt loops also to make it easier to sew.
• Right sides together, pin your waistband to the bag body, positioning the button centre front.

•  Ok, this is wear it can be a little slow going.
• Start where indicated at centre front and slowly sew the waistband to the bag.
• I used my machine's balance wheel by hand to get over some of the thickest parts of the waistband.
• Finish where you started.  If you can't stitch to the very end, go as far as you can and then do a few hand stitches to secure.

• Hand sew the button flap into position

 

• Unstitch an opening to thread your cord through
• I just made a cut with my unpicker underneath the top flap where it's not visible to have the other end of the cord come through.
• Add your toggle & cord ends.