Easy DIY Denim Purse Tutorial
Follow along to see how I make a DIY denim purse out of an old pair of jeans. It’s super easy and you don’t even need a sewing machine, plus it’s the perfect way to recycle a garment you are no longer using. Let’s get started.
Tools and materials:
- 1 pair of jeans
- 1 white, skinny chalk
- ruler
- Fabric scissors
- Straight pins
- Needle and thread
- Black string for the strap
1. Mark the denim panels
Lay your jeans on a flat surface and using your ruler and chalk, mark a rectangle on the fabric. Make sure to include the external seam on the short side of the rectangle. This will become the bottom of your purse. Consider what you’ll be carrying in the purse to determine the size. My rectangle is about 6.5 x 10 inches.
2. Cut the first rectangle
Cut along the chalk lines. Make sure to leave that external seam intact.
3. Mark and cut the second rectangle
Draw the same size rectangle on the top part of the jeans to include the pocket detail. Then cut along the chalk lines.
Now you should have two pieces, the double rectangle and the pocket piece, like these:
4. Align the 2 rectangles
Lay the pocket piece on top of your double-rectangle. Make sure the closed side of the double-rectangle is on the bottom, while the opening of the pocket is at the top.
Pin them together, as in the image below. Make sure the bottom layer of the double rectangle does not get pinned.
5. Sew
Sew on the outside of the pins, leaving about a quarter inch of a border.
6. Cut two strips from the waistband
Grab the rest of your jeans and cut 2 strips, roughly 3 inches tall, from the waistband, matching the length of the opening of your purse.
Once cut, align each strip at the top and bottom of your main piece of the purse.
7. Flip and sew
Next, flip the strips with the exterior side toward the exterior of the purse. Then sew each piece close to the edge. See video 2:10- 2:25.
When you open the flaps, it should look like this:
If you wish, you can use a zigzag stitch to strengthen the raw edges at the inside of the seam you just made:
8. Attach straps
First, use 4 pins to secure the purse, as in the image below:
For the strap, place the string at the top, between the layers of denim, and secure with 2 pins on each side.
Then sew down both sides to close the purse and secure the straps in place:
You can trim any fibers sticking out from the sides. And that’s it!
DIY denim purse
Now it’s your turn to grab your old jeans and make a creative bag. Show us how your DIY denim purse turned out in the comments below.
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Lovely .I can imagine that a lot of young people would like this ! Very fashionable in this day & age ! if I had some old jeans I would be tempted to try to make one & I am in my early 80s . ♥️
I'm not a huge fan of this style but it's given me ideas on how I can incorporate something similar with the pockets into a larger purse I'm developing a pattern for. Thanks!