Making your own handbag
By Canellita
@Canellita (12029)
United States
March 31, 2009 11:16am CST
I have often wanted to create my own handbag after disappointing shopping trips where I have been unable to find just what I wanted. I often make things and have considered recycling some items into simple handbags.
A while ago I saw a project online that used an old woven placemat to make a a simple and very nice "envelope" style handbag. I thought it was great but I wanted mine to have a lining and just never got around to it because I didn't have the fabric to match the mat I had and then there was the cleaning and all that. I guess it was just another example of how we complicate things that are really simple.
I just got this great great book on raffia bags and baskets and I am planning to experiment with using cloth and other materials I recycle to make some of the projects in the book. If what I make is successful I plan to add the items to my art market inventory.
I have this really cute little printed velveteen bag that has always been a popular conversation piece that I have thought of copying as well. I guess one of these days I will just have to get busy and get all these things done!
Have any of you made your own bags?
3 people like this
16 responses
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
6 Apr 09
Lavender is great for repelling certain pests from your seasonal clothing when you store it.
2 people like this
@disneygirl (2)
• United States
1 Apr 09
My nieces talked me into making a bag out of placemats, so I tried it and it turned out really nice. I used a cloth placemat that had squared off corners and it was easy to wash-- just threw it in the wash. I used a little velcro to be able to close the purse. It worked like a charm.
Enjoy the experiment and let us know how it turned out.
1 person likes this
@busyB4 (874)
• United States
2 Apr 09
I saw the placemats purses in a magazine and they were cute and it would not be as hard to finish I would think. This one had purse handles and they are kind of expensive so I just haven't attempted this yet. Good luck and share the photo if you get it made
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
12 May 09
BusyB4 I think you can get purse handles at walmart fairly inexpensive.
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
1 Apr 09
That is exactly the project only I wanted to put a strap and decorative trim and all that. That's me, have to make it more complicate, lol.
@cyberfluf (4996)
• Netherlands
11 May 09
That's a great idea, Canellita! I am sure there are people out there who would love a unique (hand)bag. I have made a purse out of an old fleece scarf once.
I'll add a picture of it to this reply. The inside of the purse is white and I closed it with some velcro-tape. The button 'closure' is just for fashion.
I made the strap out of ribbon to keep it fresh and sweet. I love how it turned out 
. These are all materials I had left over or was planning to recycle.
. These are all materials I had left over or was planning to recycle. @cyberfluf (4996)
• Netherlands
12 May 09
Thanks a lot, it was a lot of fun to do so .
.1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
11 May 09
Very cute! How wonderful that you recycled those items to make your purse.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
31 Mar 09
I have made simple bags but never anything like what I would buy if I go to the store. I am still trying to learn to make things without a pattern and I still need a lot of practice. I try to recycle old clothes to make things out of. Id love to make some cloth grocery bags to keep in the cars. I think I will experiment more. Thank you for the inspiration.
@GhostCat (313)
• United States
9 Apr 09
For a cloth grocery bag, simply measure the width you would like by the length you want plus four inches. Sew the side seems and bottom. Press the bottom seem open, sort of push the bottom up and measure 4 inches in on the bottom on both sides. Sew across at this point (on both sides, you may cut off this excess if you want, but it isnot necessary). Turn right side out. You should notice that the 4 inch seems on the bottom sides your give you a retangular width bottom of about four inches. Hope these instructions are clear enough.
Good Luck, have fun.
Cheers.
Cheers.1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
1 Apr 09
I have a big market bag that I started crocheting near the end of last year. I couldn't follow the pattern so I just improvised the bag using a rectangle as the base. It was from a book that showed what you could do with scraps where you use a base color and add in the scrap colors along the way. I need to get back to it. Thanks for remind me :-)
@cassleiner (66)
• United States
22 Apr 09
I have made a few handbags, myself. Mine were made out of plarn and a specialty yarn. If you are not familiar with the term, plarn refers to the yarn created from plastic bags. I combined the plarn and yarn, and hand crocheted the bag. The resulting handbags turned out much better than I originally thought they would. I am very pleased with them. I now have several people asking me to make them a bag, too.
1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
24 Apr 09
Interesting. I had not heard of plarn before. I have cut plastic bags into strips and crocheted them into a bag. It was an experiment and I kind of made it up as I went.
@rocketsky (1013)
• China
14 Apr 09
i never made my own handbags before ,i think it is quite difficult for a clumzy girl like me.
but my mom could do this her own,he could make wonderful handbags her own .
making a handbag must be interesting :)
1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
14 Apr 09
If you wanted to try you could make a simple one by folding a rectangular piece of fabric into threes envelope-style and stitching the sides. The last fold would serve as the flap and you could put a snap or velcro on it to hold it closed. I'm sure if you experimented you could come up with something quite nice.
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
1 Apr 09
I love your bag! I have all kinds of patterns but I am not so good with crochet in the round and I never learned to use my circular knitting kneedles. Maybe one day.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
1 Apr 09
A long time ago I made a canvas one....and it turned out pretty good. In fact I use it for my cosmetics when I travel and want to stay somewhere for a while...it's a very simple...just stitched at the sides with a flap in the front and I put velcro on the flap to have a way to keep it closed....I like the raffia idea!
1 person likes this
@xXxMikesWifeyxXx (3072)
• United States
1 Apr 09
No I have never made my own bag,but it does sound like it would be intresting.Also with making your own,like you stated you would be getting exsactly what you want.. defiantly not a bad idea..
Awhile back, I decided I wanted to learn how to make a shoot what are they called.lol a blanket with the patches sewn together umm a QUILT! thats what its called. N e ways I bought some material off of ebay for it and everything.BUT I never really got around to making one. I suppose if I had someone to actually show me how to do it rather then just read directions and go from there I would have done it. but I did not have that so I basically just gave up and ended up giving away the material.. somthing I would still like to do though..
I wish you the best with your handbag making:) post pics whenever u can. I would love to see how they turn out.... thanks for the discussion!
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
1 Apr 09
Quilting is pretty simple, but it is tedious and takes a little while to do. If you check online I am sure you can find some quilting videos with how to info and tips.
The patchwork is the easy but tedious part. Once you have the top layer done putting it together involves making a sandwich. The patchwork top is one slice of bread, the backing piece (can be a sheet) is the other slice and the batting is the "meat" or filling.
There are a few different ways of sewing those layers together; the easiest may be traditional knotting. Quilts layers are joined by hand or machine and unless you have a quilting machine or a sewing machine that can adapt for quilting you are going to be joining by hand. You will want huge safety pins to hold the layers together.
You may want to practice first by making small items like pot holders, placemats and lap quilts. You can make a simple quilt alternating squares of fabric in strips and then joining those strips. You could make a quilt in a day using bandanas or very large squares. You just have to practice but you could also try looking for a local quilting group in your area.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
31 Mar 09
I haven't tried yet, but I agree I have heard of people making them out of used jeans.
I'm having a hardtime finding something as well. I'm just too cheap to spend the money since the only day I'd really use it would be when I work and that's pretty minimal right now. Plus I've been using a diaperbag/backpack for 7 yrs now as I've got small kids so I don't see the need to haul one more thing ya know?!?!
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
1 Apr 09
Yep! I started carrying around more stuff when the nieces and nephew were around and then there was all this other stuff I needed to have all the time and I went from a little bag with room enough for money, keys, and cell phone to a sack, lol!
@merlibradley (407)
• Philippines
10 Apr 09
I have tried making a handbag made of old newspaper. I used it once at work and a very close friend of mine liked it so much so I gave it to her. Im planning to make another one when I have time. Weaving old newspapers is really fun!
1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
11 Apr 09
That sounds very interesting. I have seen really nice bags that were made by weaving recycled materials. I have a pattern for one that is made from laminating newspaper.
@wahmommie (1)
• United States
31 Mar 09
That's a great idea about recycling old items into something new and fresh. It's becoming more popular since so many folks are looking in how to be greener to our environment and also save money. Using placements is a neat idea. No one would even realize that the purse was once a woven placement I bet!. I saw some ideas recently about taking bed sheets from the thrift store and sewing shopping bags for the grocery store.
Personally, I've been wanting to make handbags for myself. I haven't been able to find the purse I really like. I recently purchased some patterns to give it a try, but haven't found the fabric I want to use yet. Another project on the never ending list I have!
@tabachi (263)
• Philippines
1 Apr 09
i'm a bag lady...i love bags and i don't care whetther they are signature ones or not..i just adore bags..sometimes i make my own...using any materials that i find interesting..once i made a tote bag out of canvas and apinted it using textile paints..i made an abstract design on it...and many who have senn it like it...soon'im going to make one tiny cute one and i intend to put glass beads so that it would look a bit elegant but mystic..
1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
1 Apr 09
Sounds great! Do you have any photos of the canvas one you made?
@MaryLynn321 (2680)
• United States
31 Mar 09
I have made bags, I took different kinds of scrap materials and sewn them together, and once I had a piece large enough, I then cut out the pattern from online, and sewed it together. It made a really nice bag.
1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
1 Apr 09
I bought a nice weaving loom online from DickBlick (name+dot com) and I started weaving a mat with cotton string and a plant material. It came out nice but the material would shrink up as it dried and I would have to push it down and get more. I think I only finished it about 25% because it would have taken forever to complete one mat and a year to do a set, lol.
@Sillychick (3275)
• United States
31 Mar 09
I like using jeans or cords, and lining them with a soft fabric like cotton or nylon. I've also seen them made from duct tape, which comes in all colors. That looked interesting, and I may try it sometime.
I saw a craft show where they made a beach bag from towels, and that also looked like fun. I may try that, too.
I tried one that I saw on a craft show made from a hardcover book jacket, but mine didn't come out very nice. Maybe I'll try it again sometime.
So many ideas... so little time!
1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
1 Apr 09
I have a book that shows a few patterns for purses made from duct tape but I am just not crazy about that idea. I do like the shape of the bags though and may adapt the patterns for another matertial.
