Jeans to Bag Refashion

I have been saving jeans for quite some time.  I'll take anyone's old jeans, just an FYI.  My son wears his into the ground.  I've salvaged them many times with refashions like this, but alas, they eventually come back tattered and torn, too.  Not to mention, the kid is growing like a weed!

I finally sat down and cut them all up into 3 different width strips.  Then, I sewed them all together to make a panel of fabric.  Originally, my goal was to make a high waisted skirt to match this shirt that I made.  Unfortunately, this process that I summed up in two sentences, took what felt like a lifetime to perform.  I was going to need a whole additional panel.  I didn't feel like I could spend another lifetime on this project and I was a little worried it would end up being a bit too bulky with all the seams.  I decided to fall back on what I do best and turn it into a bag.

I've been watching all these silly sewing shows on PBS.  I watched one that showed a cool bag that had movable handles, so you could slip a yoga mat or beach towel under the bottom.  I decided to try out the idea on this bag.

I took the belt loops from the old jeans and used those to run the handles through.  You basically make one huge strap and thread it through the belt loops to make the straps on each side.  Then you sew the two ends together after you thread it though the loops.

In hindsight, I probably could have made this bag upright, so that it would be taller, rather than wider.  I'm not sure what inspired me to make it this way, but it's still cool.  It kinda gives it more of a gym bag vibe than a regular purse/bag.

For the zipper, I cut one of the side seams from the pant legs in half and threaded it through the hole and sewed it shut to create a little zipper pull tab.  I think this is my favorite part of the bag.  I'm totally using this as a zipper tab for future bags.

For the inside I used a floral print I had in my stash and added some pockets to fit my wallet, phone, keys, and pens.  I can easily throw a towel in here, along with some water and a magazine or book to read.  

Now all I need is a gym membership ... lol.  I can use this for the beach or just fun, too.  I've actually been throwing around the idea of getting a membership to the YMCA.  It's little bit of a haul from our place, so I'm worried that might deter us from using as much as I would if it were down the street.  I like that they offer so many classes for so cheap and I can actually do something productive when the kids are doing there thing or vice versa.  We are going to take a tour soon and see if it's even something we'd all be in to.