DIY Sew: Bucket Bag



 

Materials:

7 to 10 Sq ft of sheep's hide leather
Purchased here on Amazon.com
Rotary cutter
Ruler
Double sided tape
Leather Punch
Sewing Machine
Leather needle
Polyester thread

Step 1: Cut leather using the below pattern

Due to the size of the piece of my leather I needed to cut the main piece in 2 instead of 1

 

Step 2: With right sides of leather touching tape the right, left and bottom sides of leather together (only at the edges)

 

 

Step 3: Sew across the bottom, and up the sides, be sure to use a leather needle, adjust tension to 4, and stitch length to 3 1/2 (note this is what I used, this will vary on every machine). Note: Press as lightly as possible on your presser foot while sewing. After sewing the sides, join the corners, tape, and sew (do this to both corners)

 

 

Step 4: Turn bag right side out , punch evenly spaced holes 2.5" apart and 2" down from the top (5 on each side)

 

 

Step 5: Sewing the strap: Tape the two pieces of leather together (wrong sides together), sew up both the right and left sides (sew in the same direction)

 

Step 6: Cut 1/8'' by 25" piece of leather and thread it through the holes

 

Step 7: Sew the strap onto the bag

 

 

Done!

 



DIY Sew: Jeans Refashion

 

Recently I decided to do a little spring cleaning, and came across a whole pile of dated flare jeans.  I honestly can't believe how quickly flares went out of style, and conceivably they could come back in a few years, but being that I live in the here and now, I decided it was either time to revive them or toss them (as closet space in a city is limited!). Now, if you remember this post from last year, I basically followed it exactly, but there were a few small things I did differently that I wanted to share.

Step 1: Turn your jeans inside out and put them on

Step 2: using pins, start above your knee on both sides and pin down (make sure not to pull the jean from left or right or you'll get bunching when you sew)

NOTE: I did one leg at a time to make sure it was exactly how I wanted it

Step 3: After pinning one leg, take the jeans off, and get ready to sew

Step 4: Using a long straight stitch start above the knee off the fabric, and sew down each side of the leg (I suggest using a long stitch, because if you make a mistake you can use the seam ripper and start over)

Step 5: Turn right side out, and determine if you have to make any adjustments (on my first attempt, there was a lot of bunching around the knee; to fix, I turned the jeans inside out and sewed another inch higher from the knee)
Step 6: Once you've determined that you like the fit of the jean on your leg, take it off, turn inside out, and cut off excess fabric

Step 7: Head back to the sewing machine, and using a short zigzag stitch, sew up both sides of the pant leg (make sure your jeans are still inside out). Doing this will prevent fraying; also, if you have a serger, you can use that instead.

Step 8: Repeat steps 1 through 7 for the other pant leg

Then... you are done!

Below is what the jeans looked like before the refashion.

So happy they could be revived!

Feel free to share pictures/post comments if you try this out yourself.

DIY Sew: Fabric Headband

Get ready for the easiest sewing tutorial there is!

Here's what you'll need:
6 inches of elastic
4" by 18" piece of fabric
Scissors
Sewing Machine
Thread

Fold Fabric in half with the right sides touching,and pin

sew

turn the piece right side out

fold 1/2 inch in on each side, place elastic in one end, and sew

Then place elastic into the other side and sew

Wear!