It’s DIY time around here….actually, when isn’t it?  That’s all I know.  I live for creating and letting loose with tools and my “toys”.  Some of my favorite mediums to work with are linen and leather, not to mention utilizing repurposed items. Check out how I took a few of these things and made myself a feed sack purse. Yee Haw!!

To say that I got a bit excited is an understatement. Linen…my all-time, drool-worthy, most favoritest fabric on the planet! Pair that with leather and I’m in textile heaven. Since having finally broke free of our medical bill burden and getting back to normal life, I’ve been taking on projects for me and my family, starting with this chair makeover. See…linen…eep!

I’ve been aching to get back to my long lost sewing machine and satisfy my craving to sew, and this month was the time.  After a couple of years of not really being able to sit down and stitch to my heart’s content, I’m “back in the saddle again”. {enter in lowly cowboy music}

You can call me crazy, but I make my own purses. I haven’t made one in this two-year deprivation I’ve been in, and have had to succumb to using a thrifted one – cute, but not MINE. Being pregnant, taking on new business, blogging, and homeschooling and can take up one’s time. tsk.

Funny thing is, I don’t carry a purse unless it’s summertime, which means no coat pockets.  I’m a low maintenance kind of lady, all I need is my wallet, occasionally a camera, and only until recently, my phone. My last self-made purse was a favorite and I can’t believe I don’t have any pictures to share with you, but trust me. It was a good one.

When I originally opened my shop, it was under the name “Lossie Made”, and I created bags, purses, and dolls to sell.  I never really got into it because life came at me. It was very short-lived. But oh, how I love bags and purses! I could hoard them just to peek at their designs.

So, back to said project. I have always wanted a linen purse and now was my chance to push myself to get it done. Here’s my beginning stash…

We’ve got linen, red ticking (yum!), and that last tiny remnants of my feed sack goodness. Remember this chair?? One of my favorites.

I had to part with the chair, but I promised myself I would making something for me with the bits and pieces I had left. sniff.

Now you may be asking, “What about the leather part?” About 6 years ago, I was given a large bag of purses for free. Mostly it contained little girls Disney purses with ugly graphics. I was about to donate them, but then I saw a gold mine. All that hardware would be perfect reused! So I dismantled them all, and salvaged all sorts of notions, zippers, etc. I have used that stash numerous times, including this leather purse.

I’ve used it to make a saddle for my little girl’s toy horse, and leather headbands for my girls. Now it’s going to be reused again for my needs.

Now remember, it’s been YEARS since I’ve made my bags, and I was a tad bit rusty when I got started doing this. I scanned over the two purses I now have in my possession for inspiration, and took note of what I liked about them. After that, I drafted a pattern I’m very excited about. Yes, I don’t buy patterns, I make them. Absolutely more fun that way!

I use old desk calendars for my paper, and just some basic math to lay it all out.

Once I’ve got a good idea of what I’m aiming for, it’s time to cut. This can be scary when you only have some scraps to work with because if you mess up, you’ve got to start over.

After getting everything cut and ready, it’s time to assemble my feed sack purse. I had to rack my brain to remember how I did certain things, but after a bit, the rusty wheels in my head got to churning and it felt soooo good.

Assembling your vision is the absolute best because you can see it all coming together. It’s been so gray and dreary around here, so what better thing to do than sit and stitch?

I won’t say that it all came together without a hitch, but there were only a couple of times I had to rip a seam or two to make adjustments. I was somewhat amazed how it worked out.

Something I have always wanted to do as well was add my very own tag to my bags and purses. Seeing your name on a label is enough to make a girl squeal. I made my own using Photoshop to create the images on one sheet, then printed on t-shirt transfer paper. After that, iron on twill tape, satin ribbon, whatever you want!

My son even could feel my excitement and came running up with his latest creation. Know what it is?

That just make me want to squeeze him! He’s so adorable and I love his creativity and thoughtfulness to make this for me. Maybe I should make him a bag for his Legos…

Okay, so are you ready for the reveal?? {she nervously wrings her hands}

I am in love.

I had just enough feed sack left to get this pocket on, and I can’t get enough of that ticking!

My rustic bag is repurposed and ready to go.  I love the eyelets, the contrasting fabrics, and most of all that it’s MINE.  tee hee.

The top was tricky, but sort of simple once I got the mitred corners figured out. My stitching is lacking in some spots,but meh…it’s for me and I needed practice, it’s been too long. I reinforced the bottom so it can hold my goodies and camera (most important), and I’m ready to go.

My front pocket not only has that feed sack front, but is lined with ticking too.

It was a challenging, but very stimulating, fun project and I couldn’t be happier with my feed sack purse. My kids and I had fun taking photos.  I need to mention that most of these were done by my oldest daughter at a local farm.

Just for the record, my whole outfit was thrifted, except the boots, I got those for $16 in an after Christmas sale at JCPenny. It can be done!

Our lovely Ohio weather just keeps being gloomy and was raining while we took outside shots. It’s hard at time to remember God knows what we need.

After finishing this feed sack purse, I’ve found even more fabrics that would work great with this design and… I just may make more. {wink,wink}

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I hope you enjoyed my revelry in sewing and if you want to see more of my crazy craft habits, you can check out these posts like my feed sack purse: