How to Make a Purse Out of Jeans You Can Wear 3 Ways

Nina's Ideas
by Nina's Ideas
10 Materials
$10
10 Minutes
Easy

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make a purse out of jeans. If you have a pair of jeans in your wardrobe that you no longer wear, this is a great way to upcycle them. The bag is not only cute but also very versatile, with three different ways you can style it. Let’s get started!

Tools and materials:

  • Jeans (ideally with pockets)
  • Measuring tape
  • Ruler
  • Fabric marker
  • Scissors
  • Iron
  • Glue gun
  • Sewing machine
  • Bag clasps or velcro
  • Straps
Cutting up the jeans

1. Cut the fabric

Cut a piece of denim that is 45cm (18 inches) in width. The length doesn’t matter so much; you can make the bag as short or long as you want.

Removing the belt loops

2. Remove the belt loops

Use a seam ripper or a pair of scissors to remove the belt loops from the top of the jeans.

Cutting off the pockets

3. Cut the pockets

Cut off the pockets from the jeans; we will put these on the bag to store things in.

Folding and ironing the denim

4. Fold and iron 

Fold the denim in at the sides by 1cm (0.4 inches) and iron the material down.

Gluing the sides together with a hot glue gun

5. Glue the sides together

Next, glue the sides together using a hot glue gun. You could also sew them if you prefer.

Adding pockets to the DIY bag

6. Add the pockets

Stick the pockets onto the denim. Take the two belt loops that you removed before, fold them in half, and glue them to either side of one pocket. We will attach the strap for the bag to these loops later.

Attaching the closure mechanism

7. Attach the closure mechanism

Take your bag clasps or velcro and sew or glue them to one side of the purse. I’m using velcro, and when you stick it on, you want both sides of the velcro pieces to be touching one another.

Folding up the purse

Then, fold up the purse as shown, stick glue on the other side of the velcro and close up the purse so that the velcro sticks to the other side of the denim.

How to make a denim purse from old jeans

Now the bag is complete, and there are three ways that you can use it. The first way is as a purse organizer: stick your phone and other bits in the pockets.

Make a purse from jeans

Then fold the bag up, so it becomes a purse, and put it inside a bigger bag.

DIY purse from old jeans

The second way to use the bag is as a clutch bag. Attach a strap to one of the belt loops and then fold the bag up as before.

DIY jean purse

Now it’s a cute clutch that you can hold by the strap.

Adding a crossbody strap

The last option is to wear it as a crossbody bag. Remove the smaller strap that you put on before and instead attach a wider strap to both of the belt loops that you can wear over your shoulder.

How to make a purse out of jeans

Once again, fold the bag up and then pop it on over your shoulder.


How to make a purse out of jeans

There we have a 3-in-1 jeans purse that was super easy to make. Let me know which way of styling the bag is your favorite in the comments below!

Suggested materials:
  • Jeans (ideally with pockets)
  • Measuring tape
  • Ruler
See all materials

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