DIY Denim Clutch

Hi guys! I still had a ton of left over material from some of my previous DIY's so I decided to make myself a Denim Clutch! I know there are a lot of templates online, but most of the ones I found only had one pocket, where I like the functionality of a two pocket clutch. I didn't find a template so I just came up for one myself! I used a Denim Bow from a previous post to make it a little more "pretty" and I think it came out pretty nicely. I hope you like this post and that you feel inspired to try it for yourself!


Materials:
- Denim, or any kind of fabric really... (mine are from a pair of old jeans)
- Pins
- Ruler or measuring tape
- Velcro square
- Shears
- Needle and thread (I chose a blue that kind of matched my fabric)



Steps:

1. Cut out your fabric/template. I realize mine looks pretty uneven, but I was using the the leftover material from my other projects so I had to improvise. Ideally you'd have square corners and straight lines! The length of mine at the longest point was about (since it's not really straight) 15 inches, the middle length was about 8 1/2 inches, with the width (or height?) was around 15 inches (from top to bottom) and at the shorter part 5 inches wide.

 

2. Now I highly recommend taking the time to plan for your next couple of steps by pinning your hems down. Use a measuring tool to make sure the top and bottom of your clutch are the same width while you pin. Fold those flaps in to make what will be your first pocket! In this step, you can kind of start to see the size of your clutch (especially in terms of width).

3. Once your got your hems in place, sew the flaps together. Make sure not to sew this part all the way through. Now, sew across the purse going all the way through to the other side to make your pocket. This should be going through the middle of your clutch with the pocket opening downward. Be careful sewing this part because you will be able to see the thread on the outside of the purse.

*I don't have a sewing machine, so I sewed everything by hand (obviously you can use your machine if you have one). I'm saving up for one!*

 4. Next, I hemmed the sides above the pocket you just made. As your hemming, take your pins out. Again, keep in mind that your thread will be seen on the outside of your clutch. Once you've finished hemming that part, fold your first pocket up to create two pockets! Before this step, your pocket should have opened facing downward. Now those two sewn-together-flaps will be the divider between your two pockets.

In the third picture below, you can see how I sewed my two pockets. I used an "invisible" hem technique, sewing in between the pockets on the outside. You can choose to sew this the same way you did the other hems if you find it easier or if you want your thread to show. This entire step is long one so when you get through it, give yourself a little pat on the back!

 5. I used Velcro as a "clasp" for where the top of my clutch will open and close to. You can use other buttons, zippers or magnets to do something similar if your prefer (Velcro isn't exactly glamorous!). I made sure to sew both pieces in the middle, one on the top flap, one on the outside pocket. Just make sure you line it up right beforehand!

6. Here's where I attached my DIY Denim Bow! I just simply sewed it in place, making stitches until I felt like the bow was really secure. Not only is it cute, but it also covered my threads from the Velcro patch! ^.^ At this point you can go back and trim some of those loose threads if you haven't done so already!

Congratulations! You just made your very own DIY Denim Clutch!

What I've learned:

- When hemming, you can make smaller stitches for those on the outside of your clutch and larger ones facing the inside of your clutch so the thread isn't as noticeable. 

- Measuring and pinning everything in place is really important. Stop every once in awhile and make everything is in line to see if you need to make any adjustments.

- Try not to stab yourself when pinning your hem line... 

- A two pocket clutch is way better than a one pocket clutch!

Here's what I'm going to wear with my new clutch, when I go out for an iced coffee (love iced coffee)! I like that this clutch is super casual and its great to just carry your essentials in when you're on the go! I love that I can take this bag anywhere, even if it gets dirty because:

     1. Isn't a big deal because you didn't spend a ton of money on it,
     2. It's totally machine washable! 

What you thought of this DIY post! I hope you try it, and let me know how your clutch turned out!

Also... I am considering attaching some kind of strap, maybe make it into a wristlet, or a cross body bag. What do you think?



Alison :)

Braided Denim Bracelet

Hey there! I just wanted to tell you that I've developed on a slight fixation to find uses/projects from the leftover denim material from my Old Jeans to New Shorts post. While the bows were really fun (from my DIY Denim Bow post), I have a lot of fabric left over and I fully intend to use all of it! This brings me to today's project. I will be constructing a Denim Bracelet! I really like my Button Bracelet which was very girly and cute... so this time I wanted to do something that had a little more "edge" to it. Keep reading to see what I did, and how it turned out!

Materials:
- Denim scraps (I have 4 strips shown but I sewed them so that I ended up with 2 long pieces of denim and one long chain)
- Chain
- Shears
- Needle and thread

 If don't have the same exact materials on hand, don't worry! You can substitute the chain for anything (another strip of denim, ribbon, yarn etc.). If anything, try something new to personalize it!



Steps:
1. First cut your fabric into strips. I used one chain and two pieces of denim but if you only have three denim pieces (or whatever you decided to use) that's totally fine too! Anchor these three pieces to braid (I just used the heel of my foot >.<), and start braiding! As you can see, my denim started fraying all over the place as I was braiding it, but don't worry! You can clean up stray ends (and your carpet) later.


2. When you're done, just tie the ends of your braid into a simple knot. On the anchored end, I didn't want to have two knots and have to tie them together into this huge, massive knot... I just used a needle and thread to sew together the pieces.


3. After that part is secure, I sewed that end of the bracelet to the knot, to make a circle just big enough to put your hand through. Make sure at some point in this step, you sew right through the knot to keep that from coming undone later when you're showing it off to your friends! ;)


 4. Great! Now you're pretty much done. I just went back and pulled out loose thread, trimmed the ends of my knot and snipped off the frays a little to keep the bracelet looking a little more polished. You can opt to tuck in the ends of your knot and leave the frays as they are. Leaving the frays will give you an even edgier look. I hope you like your new bracelet as much as I like mine!



So here it is! I think having the ends of the knot showing is pretty cute! What do you think?

What I learned:

- Cut your strips as evenly as possible. If you can do it with the "grain" or threads in your fabric, there will be less fraying later on.
- When you're braiding, check a few times to make sure the length matches the length needed to go around your wrist.
- Also while you're braiding, make sure you don't pull so tight that you don't get to see each piece, especially if one is smaller than the others (ex. my chain).


I decided to wear it my new bracelet out for the day and I actually wore it along side my Button Bracelet! How are you planning to wear yours?

This was an easy, fun and quick project that looks pretty good (if I can give myself a little pat on the back) when you're done! I hope you liked this post and that you try it out!

Alison <3

DIY Denim Bow

Hellooo! In my last post, I updated a pair of old jeans for summer (check it out: Old Jeans to New Shorts). In this post I'm going to be using the extra fabric from those jeans to make... drum roll please.... Denim Bows! I won't lie to you, I thought this was going to be really difficult and I was pretty nervous getting started. But everyone started somewhere right? Even with my basic sewing skills I managed to make not one, but two pretty decent looking bows! If you want to try it, keep reading! (I made sure to add a lot of pictures, hopefully it helps!)

Materials:

- Denim fabric (or other fabrics if you want to make a different kind of bow)

- Shears for cutting fabric

- Needle and thread

- Bobby pin (if you want to wear your bow in your hair) 

 For those of you who kept your material from my last DIY, just cut that pant leg so you can open it up. Then cut a small, rectangular section off that you will be using for your bow. Keep in mind that the length of your finished bow will be half of the length of your material and the width of your finished bow will be the a little bit smaller than the width of fabric you originally cut. Okay! Let's make this bow!

1. With your rectangular piece of fabric, hem the edges along the length of the material. It doesn't have to be perfect but it does have to be able to hold the edges down. Check out my pics:







<------ This is what it should kind of look like when you're done! You can also trim the excess thread as we go along.

2. After your done hemming, you want to sew the two "width" sides together to make sort of a mini cuff. Don't sew it through to the other side!

            

3. Now get prepared to cinch the middle part of your bow, this is when you'll start to see the bow shape through the folds/creases. Fold your bow to your desired shape and crease lines. In mine, I just made one crease in the middle. To do this, you have to make 3 zig-zag folds on the width of the bow. Once you get that, through the very middle, pull your needle and thread through to hold it in place. Then wrap the thread around the middle of your bow a few times, pull your needle and thread through a spot on the back side of your bow and tie a knot. Good job! 

                  

                    front

back

4. You will need to cut another piece small of fabric to wrap around the middle of your bow and hide the thread. This piece should be long enough so that it over laps a little in the back. 

              

5. On the back of your bow, sew this middle piece in place. And.... you're done!

 

I decided that I wanted to be able to wear this in my hair, so I looped a bobby pin through the back of the middle piece. You can use different kinds of pins and secure them permanently with super glue or a hot glue gun if you'd like. I only had a booby pin but it still worked out okay!

***Sorry, I was having a little too much fun with the camera!***

What I've learned:

- Double knot the ends of your threads. The material I used had a little bit of "stretch" to it and one of my knots slipped through at the beginning.

- It's okay it your denim has frayed edges, it gives the bow an edgy look.

- If you're first bow doesn't come out the way you wanted, try again! I like my second attempt a lot more!

My second attempt:

I decided to make another, bigger bow! With this one, I was able to make two creases in the middle (mainly because it was bigger and easier to work with). I also flipped the middle piece around to show the what would be the inside of your jeans and I think it gives it a cool look! What do you think?

          

Please post comments and/or subscribe! I would love to hear from you!

Alison <3

Old Jeans to New Shorts

Hi everyone! I live in the San Francisco/Bay area right now (I'm going to be moving to New York City in the Fall) and it has been a pretty hot summer over here. I have a few pairs of bell-bottom and boot cut jeans that are too short or are just so out of style that I'll probably never wear them again, even though they fit just fine at the waist. So... today I'm going to be taking a pair of old jeans and shortening them into Bermuda shorts! This was super easy to do an I hope that you try it if you have some old, out-of-style jeans laying around.


Materials:
- Old pair of jeans
- Shears
- Sewing Pins (you can use some other kind of marker or even eye-ball it if you don't have these)


(Do you like my hedgehog pin cushion? I made it in middle school for a Home Economics class!)



Here's a picture of the jeans I'll be using, the pant legs flare out a lot and I swear I haven't worn these in years! Let's get started!


1. To start, try on your old jeans again. If they still fit fine and you're absolutely sure you won't wear them again the way they are then move onto step 2. Otherwise this DIY project isn't for you!



2. With your jeans still on, see how long you would want your Bermuda shorts to be in terms of length. Make sure you check out your front and backside. Then, an inch below that spot, pin it! Pin both pant legs (careful not to poke yourself!) and make sure they are even with each other. If you don't have pins, you can use a white colored pencil or other markers.



3. Carefully take your jeans off and lay them out on a flat surface. Find the threads that go across in your jeans next to your pin and start cutting across using that as a guide. By following along the natural thread lines, you won't have as many strings hanging off when you're finished cutting.




4. After you're done cutting both pant legs, I would try them on again. They should be longer than you wanted with the extra inch (where you pinned). Instead of hemming the bottom, I just rolled and cuffed mine to the length I wanted! You can also sneak a safety pin inside the cuff or even iron the cuff to make sure it stays put.


And.... here's my new pair of Bermuda shorts, perfect for summer! Who knows, maybe when I get tired of them, I can make a cute pair of cutoff shorts. ^.^

What I've learned:

- When you're cutting across your jeans, if it's a little off that's okay since you're just going to tuck and cuff the ends anyways!
- Having a good set of shears helps a lot... struggling with the scissors isn't fun.
- If you want to be safe about the length you're cutting, give it an extra 2 inches instead of one, you can always go back and cut off more or cuff it a little tighter.


I hope you enjoyed this and found it to be an easy way to update your old jeans! Now I just have to think of something to do with the extra denim fabric the we cut from the bottom of our jeans... Don't throw it away! I will think of something for next time!


Alison <3