Recycled Pockets

This weekend was the start of something grand, the beginning of many good times, many failures and successes and memories, and multiple births of the creations of our minds.

Dawnette, my best friend, massage therapist extraordinaire, fellow bgirl and battle partner (Total Knock Out!), big sis and soon-to-be future roommate, and I went about the start of our co-crafting career/hobby/whatever-it-will-become.

Project #1: A new purse for Dawnette! She was using a simple bag she had gotten at the dollar store, and, funny enough, the strap broke the day after we started making this! What a coincidence! We recycled a pair a khaki cargo shorts I had laying around to create it, so the pockets were already pre-existing. Our sewing still has much to be desired, and we have lots to learn and lots of practice ahead of us, but the fact that we were able to think up all that had to happen to create a bag with sides, a bottom and a top was awesome!

We're both still on Cloud 9 from the experience, and can't wait to get into more craziness! A purse, for our first project! Not bad, if I can say so myself. Of course, you can see how horrible the 'tag' is... that's 'cause our machine was setup wrong after we re-loaded the bobbin... my fault!

Anyway, onto the photos!

The new machine! I had an old one, but upon inspection, and as I thought, something was missing or broken.

We had a pin-spilling incident. But it looked kinda cool... right? :P

Prepare to dye! Yeah... by hair dye! I had leftover colors from my hair-dying attempts (I've been growing my hair out so I'd have fresh hair that would take color again!!), so we decided to test and see if it would work for our bag! It did. :D

The semi-completed bag, pre-dying.

Yeah, we dyed it in a double-layered trashbag-covered empty Blue Moon box.

Look how pretty that color is!

Onto the zipper! That part was the hardest!

Sewing produces LOTS of little stringys! Which end up getting on everything!

And then...

the final product!

Three big pockets with a little cell phone pocket!

Inset zipper top, accented by being a different material :D

Adjustable button strap to three lengths! :D

Custom patch (uggggly I know) denoting who made it (Patience and Cadence... Dawnette and I!) It's all about the details, and that detail made all the difference.

Dawnette, sportin' her new bag!

How'd we do!?