Suede purse made from a repurposed suede shirt and leather belt
Bag-making is an illness for me. When I see someone with a bag walk by, I don’t see the person carrying the bag, I see the bag. I see it, I dissect it, I cut out the pieces, and then I put it all back together again–all in my head and all in the span of a few seconds. I think that’s the very definition of an illness. I learned a long time ago that I couldn’t make money selling bags that were as complex as the one pictured above, and that’s why I turned my business into simpler products that were less time-consuming; this allowed me to spend more time with my family while still enjoying the creative process of sewing.
In the meantime, I created a couple bag patterns over the years that I use for the purses that I make for myself. They are not in reproducible form, so I am not able to share the patterns with you. But, there are so many free basic tote bag tutorials out there, and I will introduce you to them here (scroll to bottom).
I discovered this suede shirt at Goodwill a few weeks ago, after I made my original suede purse from a repurposed vintage jacket. I couldn’t resist buying it, along with a leather belt that I saw there, so that I could make yet another suede purse for myself. (The suede shirt was to become the bag, the belt was to become the handle.) Not sure how many suede bags I need, but as long as I have my bag-making illness, I’m sure there will be more to come. (:
The suede shirt was very wrinkled, so I threw it in the dryer for about five minutes with a damp, white cloth, to help release some of the wrinkles
