My First Hand Bag

I am visiting my friend Lindsey in Seattle and I wanted to bring her a little gift that would be fun and useful. I decided upon a tote bag from the S.E.W. Everything Workshop book.


I altered the design a bit, Save My Pants style, and used a pair of damaged Dickies Work Pants (courtesy of G&L) to make the shell. The best part about using old work pants...they have a button closure pocket that is perfect for holding a cell phone, ipod, etc. etc. so I put that on the outside for easy access. The inside seams of the pant were sewn with contrasting white thread, which looks awesome against the Charcoal color of the pant, so I used that little detail on the handles.


The inside liner is just simple and subtle yellow and while floral pattern on cotton fabric you can buy at any fabric store. I added an inside pocket on the liner too for organization. The same fabric is used on the underside of the handles for a little color in the shell.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this bag was to make and I know I will be making more. Next project on the list: to make a matching wallet to fill that handy inside pocket.