Project - Upcycle Jeans Purse

Found a pair of Calvin Klein jeans at Salvation Army for $4.00.  Another purse for Mary.

I used fusible fleece on a batik cotton found at Hobby Lobby for the lining, back of the straps, the belt and pocket trim.  The button was found at Hancock Fabrics.  The lining was hand stitched into the purse using a slip stitch.

I used magnetic closure from a source on Etsy.  

Hope you like it.

Happy Anniversary Baby!

Thanks for sharing your life with me.  I love you.

June 6, 1976

2012

Project - Three Handbags for the Girls - Gracie Inspired

We headed out to San Diego for my youngest daughter, Elysia's, college graduation and Mary thought it would be nice to make all of my three daughters a purse.

After some searching on the internet, I found the Gracie Handbag design by Lazy Girl and decided to give it a whirl.  So off we went to the fabric store where we found some of the material and the rest came from the local Habitat store.

Instead of sewing the handles to the front of the bag, I left open the four attach points when sewing the lining to the face and before turning the bags right sides out.  I then measured and inserted the handles prior to doing the top stitching.  I think it made for much more finished bag.

Magnetic closures were used on all three bags.

The bags called for an acrylic insert in the bottom, but I just cut some 1/8" plywood I had and inserted that.

This design features inside corners that drove me nuts until I found this article on cipping inside corners and this video.  Great tutorials!

I learned a lot through the process of making each bag and by the time I finished wanted to go back and remake the first two.  Time ran out and the girls loved them.  I think I'm the only one who noticed.

Here they are in the order that I made them:

Dominique's bag got a quilted front and a large button

which accented the circles in the fabric pattern.

Danielle's bag got a pleated front.  The pleats were actually the reverse side of the corduroy

fabric seen in the closure flap.  I ran out of material and had to piece the handles.

This pattern was a nightmare to figure out.

Elysia's (the graduate) bag got a tighter pleat.

All the bags got a similar lining with pockets.  I made a sleeve in the bottom of the bag

to accommodate the plywood.

Bernina 1130

Mary and I just got back from picking up a "new to us" Bernina 1130...!!!

We saw it this morning on CraigsList and called at 7:00 AM.  We left a voicemail and the seller called back by 7:30 AM.  We made an appointment at 3:00 PM at her home about a 100 miles from our house.  She said she had bought it new and the machine was in excellent condition with all of the accessories plus a walking foot.

When we saw it, it was immediately apparent that it had been well cared for.  She did a little demo for us, had a nice conversation, paid her and we were on our way.  Got back at 5:15 and decided that we needed to sell some machines.

Currently, we have a Singer 15-91, a Necchi BU Nova, Four Kenmore 1560's, Two Kenmore 1040's, a Bernina 830, and now the Bernina 1130.  I think I'll sell a couple of the 1560's and the Bernina 830.

The 830 is absolutely complete and is beautiful... thoroughly cleaned, serviced, waxed, and lubed.  This is going to be difficult...

I'll take some pictures of the 1130 soon and post them.

Michael

Project - Upcycle Capri Pants Purse

Didn't take a before shot but they were
similar to this pair.

So, I was rummaging through a Salvation Army store and found a great pair of Chico's capri pants for $3.50 and thought of trying to convert them into a purse for Mary.

I added the pleats to the front as the previous owner was on the plus side.  Used the legs for the straps added a pocketed liner with fusible fleece interfacing.  Had I to do it again, I'd have used a thinner interfacing.

I used a magnetic closure and hand stitched the lining to the outer bag using a slip-stitch.  It came out nice.

Project - Upcycle Drapery Purse

Found some very clean drapery panels at Goodwill and decided to make a test purse just to see if I could do it and also to see what problems I would encounter.  I didn't use a pattern; just sort of came up with the design as I went.  I incorporated curtain and box pleats on the four identical panels that make up the outer bag... originally it was going to be two panels, but after adding the pleats you couldn't fit your hand in the bag.

Lessons learned:

1. Zipper should be lower in the opening of the purse.
2. Inside pockets should be higher in the purse.
3. Add straps before top stitching the bag to the lining.

I used Pollen SF101 fusible interfacing on the lining and fusible fleece on the outer bag.  With the heavier fabric, the fleece gave it just the right body.  With all of the interfacing and the already thick outer fabric, the only machine that would sew the top stitch along the top of the bag was the Bernina 830.  The Singer 15-91 and the Kenmore 1560 ended up with thread nests.

Here are some photos of Mary using the bag on Easter Sunday:

Items For Sale

eBay Items For Sale

Custom Items: Made To Order

• Pin Cushions --- coming soon
• Custom Vintage Sewing Machine Display Base

Vintage Sewing Machines For Sale

• Vintage Bernina 830 Record Electronic Sewing Machine - Restored --- coming soon
• Vintage Kenmore 148.1560 Sewing Machine - Restored --- coming soon
• Vintage Singer 15-91 Sewing Machine - Restored --- coming soon

Vintage Sewing Machines Sold

• Vintage Bernina 830 Record Sewing Machine - Restored --- SOLD
• Vintage Kenmore 158.10402 - Restored -Very Rare --- SOLD
• Vintage Singer 221 Sewing Machine - Restored --- SOLD
• Vintage Singer 99-31 Sewing Machine - Restored --- SOLD

DIY - Project Links

Cone Thread Stand

Sewing Machine Needle Pouch Wallet

Project Links

Misc.:

• Cone Thread Stand
• Sewing Machine Needle Pouch Wallet

Dresses:

• Sack Dress

Purses:

• Upcycle - Suede Leather Pants Purse
• Upcycle - Chico's Capri Pants Purse
• Upcycle - Drapery Purse
• Upcycle - Jeans Purse
• Gracie Bag Inspired - Purses

Sewing Projects:

• DIY Do-Rag
• DIY Two Zipper Hair Clipper Pouch/Tote
• Jeep Cover
• Upholstered Dog Cushion

Vintage Sewing Machine Links

In Alphabetical Order:

Refurbished - Bernina 830 Record - SOLD


Refurbished - Kenmore 1040 - SOLD

Refurbished - Singer 221 Featherweight - SOLD

Refurbished - Singer 99-31 - SOLD

Refurbished - Singer 99-31

Downloadable Manual

••• SOLD •••

Vintage Singer 99-31 Sewing Machine

Very Clean - Serviced

Circa 1955

Made In USA

$599.00

Here is a little Singer 99-31 that I refurbished in 2012.  It was fairly dirty and ran slow.  It was missing the manual, grease, oil, and needles (replaced them with vintage originals found here and there).  It did come with the box of accessories.  The wiring was cut in a few places so I rewired from the motor to the wall plug.  The case had some stains that I never could remove.

I oiled and greased the machine with Tri-Flo and polished and waxed the painted surfaces.  It now runs like a top... even the bobbin winder works flawlessly.  It turned out to be a little beauty.

I learned a lot from the little machine, so decided to purchase a Singer 221 Featherweight.

I've since sold the 99-31.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

Michael

My Items For Sale On Ebay

SOLD January 2013

Custom - Base for Singer 15-91, 201

If you own a Singer 15-91, it probably didn't come with a case or a cabinet.  It is almost impossible to use without one.  I decided to make a decorative and functional base for my Singer 15-91.

Once I figured out the dimensions, it was just as easy to make two... so I did.

Kept one for me and sold one on ebay.

Hope you enjoyed this idea.

Michael

My Items For Sale On Ebay

ps... If you are interested in one of these for yourself, let me know and I'll get back to you with pricing.

DIY - Sewing Machine Needle Organizer Wallet

I've been driving myself nuts trying to keep track of my sewing machine needles.  I keep forgetting what I have installed in each of the growing number of machines that I use.  I don't want to put used needles back in the "new" container, so I lay them down somewhere with full confidence that I'll easily remember what size it is.  It takes about 3 minutes to forget, not only the size, but ever having seen it before.

I needed a system.... so yet another internet search began.

I found this idea somewhere, sorry to the originator whose name and post location I've forgotten, and decided to embellish it for my own use

Basically, you take an 11" x 11" square of an inner and outer fabric, sew the grid with a contrasting thread (I used a quilted fabric to help me keep the lines parallel), label the gridded fabric with a permanent marker then turn it good side to good side with the outer fabric and sew it together with a 1/2" seam allowance.  Leave a section open for turning it right side out.

Clip the corners and turn right side out, then top stitch around the perimeter.

I then cut a couple circles of velcro and hot melted them in place... VOILA... organization!

I took the photos with the organizer on a cutting mat so that you can get an idea of the grid spacing.

Assign various colored pins to your machines and pin them into the organizer indicating which needle is in which machine.

I'll probably forget which color I assigned to which machine...

She had another idea where she took an old pincushion and wrote the needle sizes about the cushion and just stuck that size needle there.  Free, if you've got an old pincushion.

Hope you enjoyed this idea.

Michael
My Items For Sale On Ebay