Monday 5 September 2011

Upcycling a dress into a tote bag


upcycle dress tote
The photograph above shows you how I transformed an unwanted girl's dress into a lovely tote bag.

The dress belonged to my daughter and to be honest she never really wore it that much. The design had a faint circle in the middle which I wasn't really keen on! It seemed a shame that it wasn't being used so I decided to make some other use for it.

Mini Tutorial on how I transformed this dress into a bag/tote

  • I unpicked the dress at the seams and cut the length I needed.
  •  I sewed the denim into a pocket shape.
  • I also sewed a matching size pocket shape made with spare fabric I had spare from another project to make a lining for the tote bag.
  • I also added a pocket to the lining of the tote, using the denim from the front part of the dress.
  • Then I placed the lining into the denim tote, then I sewed them together at the top.
  • I used the original bias tape from the dress to go all the way around the top of the tote.
  • Then I used the spare frill to make a strap (i used some filling to bulk it up).
  • I made a fabric flower with the frill and denim and added a button and sewed this to the front.
  • I then decided afterwards to add a zip fastening.
  This project didn't take me long and I finished it in one night.  My daughter loves her new tote bag and she can keep her things in it nice and safe too because of the added zip closure!

This week I am linking this post with the following link parties / blog hops:
  Pink Hippo Party Beneath the Rowan TreeMonday Monkey Hop at Mommy of Two Little MonkeysPhotobucketTipMeTuesdayButtonConfessions Of A Stay At Home MommyStrictly Homemade TuesdayhomeworkPassionately ArtisticKatie's Nesting SpotRhinestone BeaglebuttonDearCreatives

26 comments:

  1. How cute..reuse is always a best thing to do :)
    thanks for sharing!

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  2. The tote bag looks fabulous. I'm sure it will get lots of use. It's great when you can make something 'new' without spending money. I'm a new follower of 'Karima's Crafts.

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  3. I love the bag...very clever idea!

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  4. Hi Karima,

    I just wanted to thank you for stopping by and following me. I'm returning the favor as your newest follower. :)

    I LOOOOOVE your blog. I have a thing for crafty blogs, so I'm sure I'll be visiting often! Have a great week! :)

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  5. Hi Karima! I saw this in my Google Reader the other day and meant to comment on what a great idea it is. I've now just seen it on Tip Junkie. It's just great!

    Anne @ Domesblissity

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  6. oh my gosh.. what a lovely idea!! :-)

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  7. Fantastic idea-- I tried making one once but got stuck in the intricacies of fitting a zip! Thank You so much for dropping by my blog and following me

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  8. ths idea s amazing..honestly ths s gr8

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  9. Karima, thanks for visiting me , following me and your nice comments ..you have got a lovely blog here...will visit again :)

    Take care

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  10. Such a cute tute! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I am following you as well. :)

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  11. hello dear, thanks for the visit and follow me ok, I loved your blog congratulations! kisses
    http://mycupcakestyles.blogspot.com/

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  12. What a cute idea! When my daughters were younger I made a purse for them out of an old pair of jeans....never thought about using a dress. Very clever and cute! Thanks for stopping by by the way! Very nice blog you have here!

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  13. Great idea! I'm a new follower from the Lot's of Lovin' Hop.
    http://kristy-s-place.blogspot.com/

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  14. What a beautiful project! I love it...you ares so creative! Angie xo

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  15. What a wonderful re-purpose project! Feel free to link it up on my site too! Sew creative. Happy creative weekend.

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  16. Assalaamu Alaykum,
    I love this tutorial and your blogs. I'm dabbling in a bit of sewing and always looking out for good tutes! Looking forward to checking out your blogs more.

    BTW, my husband is Algerian too :)

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  17. Love, love, love this! Upcycling is awesome and your bag is beautiful! thanks so much for sharing with the Pink Hippo party.. can't wait to see what you share next!

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  18. Looks great! Thanks for linking up at the Rhinestone Beagle. Can't wait to see what you have for next week.

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  19. How cute! Thank you for linking to It's a Party!

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  20. What an adorable transition!! I have a pile of clothes that are for upcycling into things- hoping when the cold keeps us more indoors I will have time to be creative!

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  21. How clever!! The purse turned out so cute!! Following you now! :)

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  22. Thank you all for your lovely comments, Karima

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