TURN A PAIR OF OLD JEANS INTO A STYLISH TOTE (new YouTube video)

You guys, I’m super excited to let you know that my newest YouTube video on how to turn a pair of old jeans into a stylish tote bag is now live, yay!

I must say, I wasn’t too sure about this whole upcycling thing when I first started, but working on this project definitely opened my eyes to lots of possibilities on how to reuse materials we already have. And, I absolutely love the finished tote. I think it’s stylish, and classy, and also unique and I hope you’ll love this project as much as I do :).

To make this tote you will need: a pair of old jeans, 2 - 19’’ x 15’’ (48cm x 38cm) canvas panels for the lining, 2 - 19’’ x 15’’ (48cm x 38cm) panels of medium weight fusible interfacing, and 2 - 25’’ (64cm) long webbing for the handles.

You will also need a pair of sharp fabric sheers, seam ripper, fabric marking pen or a chalk, as well as all the standard sewing and pressing supplies.

I used a universal Guttermann polyester thread for all the piecing, and Dual Duty heavy thread for the topstitching. I love the way the topstitching looks when using thicker thread and was glad to see that my machine handled different weights of thread quite easily (I only needed to do a bit of testing and adjusting the tension on my machine). Also, I used a thick 100/16 needle which helped with the thick thread and all the layers I needed to sew through.

I hope you’ll enjoy this video and give upcycling a try. Can’t wait to see all your gorgeous creations.

Happy sewing, friends!

Wishing you all a fun and creative day. Svetlana