Repurposed.

I do a lot of vintage shopping. I buy things from Goodwill, Flea Markets, the DAV, and various other thrift and used clothing stores. Generally, I want my clothes to be cute and comfortable, but also practical for an art room. I don't buy many items that are white....or that need to be ironed. And its nice that I can buy something cheaper than I would if it were new, so if it does get a stain or spot on it, I haven't invested much.

Sometimes I find clothing that I can't walk away from. I have to evaluate if it is likely that I will ever wear it....and I have to decide if I am just buying it because I found it. Not because I would ever actually buy it from a retail store. Often, I will find polyester shirts like this one:

And even though I don't think I will wear it, I went ahead and brought it home....And then when I found similar shirt with two owls on it....I had to have it. So now I have two shirts that are very similar, but they are hot, itchy polyester so I won't wear either one very often, if ever. But I could not leave them behind. I found them. Now they are mine.

I decided to transform the owl shirt into a bag. I've been working on this project for quite a while, so I am glad to finally have it finished so I can show you!!

I cut off the bottom of the shirt, with the pretty design on it. Luckily, it was printed on the front and back. I sewed across the bottom, and made a liner for the inside. The liner is pretty rough...I've never lined a bag before, but whatever, it works. Since the shirt is a strong material, it will make a great bag, but the white is a little bit sheer so I think the liner was a good idea. Also, I'm notorious for spilling things in bags...

I cut up the top of the shirt and made sort of a quilted design for the handles of the bag. I just happened to have the perfect shade of blue fabric to line the handles. Also, I added some interfacing to reinforce the handles.

This was a fun repurpose project! Thanks for reading!!