My first purse.

[mushbubbles]

I've had an old sweater from Goodwill lying around and I've literally NEVER worn it. I realized the only reason I kept it was because I LOVE the fabric. So I decided to make something out of it.

I made this cute purse by hand (my sewing machine's tension is off and I can't for the life of me figure out how to fix it) and it didn't take long at all!


I cut the strap off of an old lunch box that I never used and it's perfect! I love adjustable straps.


The inside lining is just an old black t-shirt.



It looks better when there is actually stuff inside of it, haha :)
My dog says hello!

Comments

[spaceoperadiva]

That is an awesome cute purse! It turned out really well, and kudos for the lunchbox handle reuse.

If you want, you can sew on something white with dark thread and then take front and back pics and I'll kibbutz on what's up with your sewing machine tension.

[spaceoperadiva]

Your handsewing is about 1000x better than mine, so please don't take that offer as any critique of your cute purse!

[mushbubbles]

Thanks so much :) I'm pretty proud of myself haha. I didn't use any patterns and didn't measure a thing!

I can't take pics right now but when I'm sewing, the top sews perfectly and the bottom looks all jumbled. Like really badly. (I have a vintage kenmore machine and I'm new to sewing with a machine so I couldn't tell you anything more than that! haha.) Thank you for offering to help :)

[spaceoperadiva]

If the bobbin thread is coming out nicely when you pull on it when you're not sewing, then the next thing to consider is if you need a new needle. Weirdly enough, dull needles can make the bottom/bobbin thread turn to snarls. You think that would cause the top to screw up, but not so much. Try putting on a new needle.

If the bobbin thread is acting up on its own when you're not sewing, but also when you pull on it, something is going on in the bobbin case and that assembly under there. First make sure there's no stray thread or fluff stuck in the works. If that doesn't fix it, some bobbin cases have a tiny little screw adjustment on them.

[mushbubbles]

Hmmmmm I guess I might need a new needle. That wouldn't be much of a surprise considering how old the machine is. My mom got it from my grandma and gave it to me. I'm sure she didn't use it much as she has her own.

I have googled and googled about the screw adjustment (which my machine does have) and I novicely messed with it which I'm sure made things worse. I'm not sure how tight the screw is supposed to be. I may have to just take it in to the repair shop.

Thank you for your insight! Much appreciated :)

[herlander_refugee]

That is nice. I like to buy old sweaters from Goodwill and felt them to make things!

[mushbubbles]

Thanks :) I used to work at Goodwill so I'd come home with the randomest things sometimes haha.

[brisus]

Very cool!

[mushbubbles]

Thank you! I'm quite proud of it :)

[weaverbird]

Very nicely done!

[mushbubbles]

Thanks much :)

[seryn]

It's got POCKETS! That's so awesome.

I'm thrilled for you that you were able to take something you loved for the fabric and make it into something you could actually use. And to do so without spending the cost of buying a whole purse on just the straps is stellar. You win an extra star sticker for creative reuse of materials!

I love how you took advantage of the hem texture to make your edges more decorative.

Nice job attaching the lining too. (I agree with the other commenter that your handsewing is much better than mine.)

Now, if you did it again, would you still use a black lining? [I'm constantly adding pens to my bags because I can't see them against the black lining and think someone's borrowed it and not returned it. Then periodically I dump the bag out looking for lost stitch markers or whatever tiny items and am astounded to find I have 8 pens.] Did you add a closure for the top that we can't see in the pictures or does it mostly just hang shut because you designed it well? If you added those magnetic snap things, were they hard to sew in by hand? (I've only done it once and they fell off.)

Congratulations. I think your bag is really nifty.

[mushbubbles]

To be honest I didn't even think about the lining until after I was finished with the purse and hadn't yet added straps. This t-shirt had been tossed around my closet so many times, there was no wearing it again. Since I'd never made a purse before, I just kinda went with the flow. There was really not much thought put into the lining.
I like the classic look of the green sweater fabric and I don't think I made the wrong choice by lining with black. Thinking about it now, I probably would have used a greyish color since the purse is kind of deep and impossible to see inside of, haha. But it's pretty narrow too and there's not a ton of room inside so I can easily find things by just feeling around.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention though. I will be more considerate of that with my next projects :)

There is no closure on either pocket. I was hoping that wouldn't be a problem and so far it hasn't been! The purse is narrow enough that nothing should fall out. I have a big(ish) wallet and it just kinda sinks down to the bottom.

Thank you so much for the compliments! :)

[corrvin]

I sense a future Make magazine article about "install tiny LED lights in the bottom of your purse." :D

[seryn]

I'd beta-test that!

[havocthecat]

How lovely!

[corrvin]

Awesome strap re-use! And nice sewing-- I love the hem of the shirt/sweater becoming the opening.