By now, you are probably aware that I love to sew, especially when I can refashion, recraft, or upcycle a thrifted garment.
Today, I am going to share how I took a pair of $4.50 thrifted jeans, some fabric that I had on hand, and simple sewing skills to create an easy bag that I take back and forth to the gym.
Let's get started.
Here are my jeans and fabric that I matched from my stash.
The large floral is from a collection of companion colorways that I purchased from a local fabric outlet for $2.00.
The jeans were from a local "Teen Challenge Thrift Shop" that I love to visit weekly.
They have great housewares and decor, and rows of clothing items. I grabbed 2 pairs of jeans a while back and used the darker pair for this project.
I started by using bulldog clips at the top of the jeans so that the waistband was even all the way around.
This was important because worn jeans tend to "slip" in the front. If I had cut them without doing this, I would have had an uneven back and front length.
Next, I needed to slice up the inside seam, through the crotch area and back down the other leg.
I used a sharp pair of shears to cut as close to but not on the rolled seam. You can see that on typical jeans the inside seam is rolled over and then sewn.
Once this was done, I folded over the front part of the crotch seam to make the jean fabric flatten against itself.
Pants are cut on curves because if you took a side cross-section of your body, there is a curve from the lower back down through the crotch area up to the belly.
You cannot just sew a cut crotch seam without cutting up into both the front and back of the pants.
So, using those same sharp scissors, I cut up the front seam to the point where the jeans would lay flat on itself.
See?
That point is actually the center of the crotch on the jeans.
Now the front part of the jeans lays flat.
I repeated that same process with the back of the jeans as well.
Where the two legs meet (finger) is where the bottom of my bag will be sewn.
Using a ruler and a black pen, I marked that on the front side only and then cut straight across through both the back and front layers.
Here's the result.
Can you see the bag starting to form?
(You can also follow these same steps to create a jean mini-skirt as well...)
Using pins to secure the left and right sides to each other, I sewed a seam from my finger down to the bottom.
I followed the curves of the top layer so that you cannot see the blue thread of the seam.
I did the same thing in the back.
Next, I sewed the front pocket lining down on the edges so that they did not pull inside out once the bag was finished.
From the outside of the pocket, you can't even see the seam because the thread blends so well with the jean fabric.
At this point, I removed the bulldog clips, turned the jeans inside out and sewed a seam at the bottom of the two sides.
I now had a bag, BUT I wanted to create a "real boxed bottom."
This is easy to do on any bag.
I measured the bottom seam from the edge (point) at 3 inches and made a mark.
I folded the seam open so that it forms this triangular section.
I drew a straight line from side to side as a guideline for my seam and then put fabric to needle.
This is the result.
A boxed bottom to my bag.
Now I needed to make two handles.
I took one of the legs and cut two even length pieces that were 4 inches wide.
(I'm keeping the other leg for a future project)
I folded each side over an inch, meeting their raw edges in the middle to the strap.
Next, I folded in the middle so that the original folds met together.
This means that you never have to make a "tube" of fabric then turn it inside out!
I sewed two seams down each side about a quarter of an inch apart.
This gave my strap a bit of stability and stiffness.
I set them aside and got to work on creating the inside lining with the floral fabric.
I knew that this fabric was not quite enough yardage front top to bottom to fill the inside.
To make it work, I added a blue strip to each side's top area. This gave me the added length that I needed.
I sewed them together then "stitched in the ditch" (which means to stitch along the seam from the right side to hold the fabric flat) as a finish to the lining edges.
I created a small interior pocket and stitched it to the lining on one side.
I topped that with a bit of a coordinating fabric as well.
I sewed down both sides and across the bottom of the lining to create a "bag/lining" to go inside my jean bag.
I boxed the bottom exactly like I did the jean bag.
Now it was time to place the lining inside the jean bag.
Keeping both bags, as shown above, I placed the lining inside, matching the top edges.
I started by placing clips at certain points on both bags.
It's easy to explain it like a clock.
I placed a clip at 12 and 6 o'clock so that my lining front and back met up exactly with the front and back of the jean portion of the bag.
Then, I clipped at 3 and 9 o'clock where the seams of both bags met together.
This left me to work between those clips and evenly distribute the lining and the jean bag.
I now placed one end of a strap where I wanted it to be in relation to the front of the jean bag.
I "sandwiched" it between the jean portion and the lining, and then used clips to hold it in place.
I took the other end of that same strap and repeated this process on the other side of the front. I made sure the strap was straight from one side to the other. I matched this strap placement on the back of the bag as well.
I used the bulldog clips to hold the jean fly together as there were two layers of fabric plus the lining.
Prior to sewing, I made sure the bag hung at a point the was comfortable on my shoulder.
I now took this whole thing to my machine and slowly stitched about an eighth of an inch down from the edge, through all the layers of fabric, all the way around.
Super easy when you take your time.
Especially when you have this at the end...
An upcycled jean bag!
It has both the front and back pockets from the jeans. One is perfect for housing the lock that I use in the gym locker room.
The bag holds my lifting gloves, some essential oils I used when working out, my notebook, my headphones, a spare glasses case (to hold my glasses during yoga), and any other items I might need for the gym.
I've clipped my gym swipe card to the belt buckle and add my car keys when it's in the locker.
It's dedicated just for the gym, but could easily be used as a purse or bag for another purpose as well.
It's a great "rule breaker!"
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