Upcycle a Broken Umbrella Into a Cute, Reusable Grocery Bag

Tools and Materials:

• Broken umbrella
• Scissors
• Sewing Machine
• Buttons

I started by unpicking the umbrella material from the actual umbrella. I would only be working with the umbrella material so I needed to make sure I removed it all before I could start my upcycle. The best thing about this material is that it is durable and waterproof. I’ve seen quite a few reusable bags made from it so I was excited to get started on my own! 

I folded the umbrella material in half and noticed that the material is divided into triangles which helps give it its umbrella shape. I cut the far left and far right triangles off of the rest of the material. These cut off triangles will later become the straps for this cute, new reusable bag.

In this step, I folded the bottom and top left and right corners. I then turned the bag inside out and I was ready to sew! 

I closed up the open sides of my new bag by sewing side seams. It’s so exciting seeing this upcycle come together! 

To get started on creating the perfect bottom for my bag, I drew a straight line across the triangle point of the material. 

I went back to my handy sewing machine and sewed across that line. 

I circled back to the triangles I had cut off for the straps. I cut them in half, making four smaller triangles. I placed the triangles in pairs, right sides facing together, and headed back to the sewing machine. 

I sewed just under the point, across the top of the straps, creating one long strap. I then edge stitched all the edges down to give the strap a perfect finish. 

I hand sewed these small buttons onto the side seams. Adding these buttons would allow the bag to open up and be folded which is a feature I just adore! 

I used masking tape to symmetrically attach the straps onto the bag. The masking tape helped to hold them securely in position.

I then went ahead and sewed all the edges of the handles onto the bag.

This anti-waste, reusable bag is everything! What other umbrella upcycles have you heard of? Let me know in the comments below!