7 of 20 denims - I had some fun :D

Another pair of kids jeans has now been turned into zipper bags ... all of these will be going to Blue Hills :)  They also count as a 6 pack for Patty's Bag It 2017 :)  I used labels, tags, waistband elastic and pockets from this pair, along with bits and pieces that didn't get used up with previous pairs - I keep everything in a shoe box so I don't misplace or mix anything up :D

Zippy embellished with ribbon, a 3D button, a crab charm (LOL) and several jeans tags :D 

 I embellished this one with blue ribbon, a pocket (you can see on the front and back where the pocket had been paintstakingly removed for reuse :D), a mermaid charm and a size tag.  This zipper pouch is a size 14 - HA!

I've been working with fabrics that had been gifted to me by my friends Mickie and Carol during a visit to Pennsylvania this summer.  The teacup applique was a scrap in a collection of floral/teacup prints.  I embellished it with an Old Navy jeans tag, a pocket, and a bird zipper pull :D

More fabric from Mickie & Carol!  I embellished this pouch with a sweet purple floral strip, some buttons, an acrylic bead zipper pull and a little cotton tag :)

The roses and teacup charm appliqued on this pouch was from Mickie and Carol :)  I also added a mouse zipper pull and several tags - the Smile one is a direct order for the recipient to smile about the tag above it :D

Bicycle pouch!  I quilted this one with variegated fabric, added a Smile tag and a bicycle zipper pull :)

I still have 13 pairs of jeans to work through - they're currently stuffed in a plastic shopping bin that's under the table I'm typing at - I'm kicking it with my slippered foot right now because it's in my way :D 

Current count of completions from the jeans:  8 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 7 + 6 + 6 = 45 :)
Updated Bag It 2017 count = 33! 

Denim finishes from the summer (#'s 5 and 6 of 20)

Oh my - it seems like so long ago that I was taking pictures outside on the clothesline in the summer - I can't believe it's November already!  At least we haven't had snow yet :D  These groupings are from pairs 5 and 6 of the 20 pairs of jeans I'm upcycling :D  (None of them  count for Bag It as they were completed prior to the event starting)

Pair #5 of 20 - 5 bags and 2 wallets = 7 items completed of the 5th pair of jeans -  they've already been sent to the counselling center (except the boxy bag, which wasn't up to snuff imho :D).

Regular zippies

More regular zippies - in the one on the right you can see where the original jeans pocket was removed so I could reuse it, lol.  The back has the same dark pocket shaped spot :D

Superhero (lining fabric) wallets from this tutorial :) 

Denim boxy bag - I used the technique here to create a boxy bag with no raw edges inside.  It did NOT go well.  It worked, but was really fiddly (frustrating!), and the lining is all lumpy and bumpy and doesn't seat well.  It doesn't look horrible - it just doesn't look as nice as I want my bags to look.  This one isn't even going to get donated to Blue Hills - it's headed to the thrift store - hopefully a non-sewer won't mind the kerfluffley lining :D

Next up - 6 of 20 - 6 completions - 5 bags and one apron :D

3 earbud pouches and 2 zippies :D

Close-up of the cute zipper pull on one of the bags - it's probably a character from Disney or ?? but I'm not familiar with all the new shows so I don't know what his or her name is :D  Note the size tag beside it, salvaged from the jeans, lol.

The last item finished from the 6th pair of jeans is the apron second last from the right - the one with the blue/yellow/black Batman pocket :)   This picture may already have been posted in the summer so sorry if it's a repeat - I guess I didn't get a solo picture of the apron for the denim project - mea culpa :D

Current count for denim completions:  8 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 7 + 6 = 39 finishes from 6 pairs of jeans :D

4 of 20 - more denim completions :D

These bags were completed in July so they don't count for Bag It - I took the pictures a while ago, but wasn't organized enough to get them posted.  These were simple and quick finishes, and have already been shipped to the counselling center.  See the clips in the photos?  Those are jumbo clips (a no name version of the Wonder Clips) that I got from Amazon a while ago - they're longer than the Wonder Clips, which is making them very useful for assorted and sundry tasks in the sewing room :)  They even have a tiny hole in the back at the top, which means I can hang them from a pin on my design wall, and use them as a clip!  (Thanks to my friend Nancy for pointing that out - I hadn't realized until she told me :D)

(A running total of the jeans upcycle finishes = 8 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 26 finishes from 4 pairs :D)

More denim - 3 of 20 :D

Okie dokie, artichokie - another pair of kids jeans has been cut to pieces and restitched, this time resulting in 6 finishes :D

Here we have a critter ... from the pattern @ this post :)

Regular zipper bags

Tiny little boxy bag with angled corners :)

If baby aims carefully, they can drop their crumbs into the pockets of these bibs :D

A few years ago, a bloggy friend - Katherine - gave me some scraps (probably from a quilt, judging by the cuts!) - they've been ripening in my stash for an embarrassingly long time, but have now come out to play :)  The first project I made was a QAYG zipper pouch, made with log cabin-ish type blocks.  It's lined with lovely grey polka dot fabric just because :)  See the yellow flower button on the left?  It's from a card of 3 buttons that another bloggy buddy sent me for no reason whatsoever - and doesn't it work perfectly with this project?  Thank you Katherine and Karen :)

Last, but certainly not least - a new-to-me design using more of Katherine's scraps :)  This is a Bella clutch from the Clover and Violet website - the free tutorial is here :)  I really like the shape and gathering - it's very pretty and feminine :)   You could actually make this bag in any size - I like that, because it allows me to use up the last bits and pieces of fabrics by sizing the bag to fit the fabrics, rather than doing it the other way around :D   This project qualifies for Fiona's New to Me linky party for July - I made it in the nick of time, lol!


(A running total of the jeans upcycle finishes = 8 + 5 + 6 = 19 finishes from 3 pairs :D)

2 of 20 - the upcycle odyssey continues :D

Last month I posted about buying 20 pairs of kids jeans from a thrift store, for a buck a pair.  My intention was to stitch them into zipper bags - I managed to get 8 bags out of the first pair of jeans (after adding more fabrics and notions, etc.).  I went on to pair #2, and ended up with 5 more bags :)

A couple of zipper bags sized to fit the pockets that I salvaged from this pair of jeans :D

3 rocket zipper bags (pattern here) using upcycled denim and stash fabrics :)

In the first picture I threw some sewing clips on the table to bling up the photograph - these are a recent purchase from Amazon (NAYY) - I had them on watch for a while and when they went on sale, I bought - 30% off is 30% off!  The first thing I noticed when I took them out of the bag, was the fact that they're PRETTY.  Not all sewing notions are pretty, but these clips are, lol.  They're a no name version of Wonder Clips, and these are the jumbo sized ones.  My lovely friend Nancy pointed out that the hole in the back of the clip means we can pin these to a design wall (or hang from a pegboard) and use them as clips - brilliant!  I'm happy I bought these - they're cute AND practical :)

I'll try to remember to keep a running total of the finishes from these jeans - #1 was 8 and #2 is 5, for a total of 13 :)  I'm actually on pair #5 now but just now got around to taking pictures, lol.  Some of the finishes involve velcro rather than zippers ;)

From one pair of kids jeans and some stash fabric ... 1 of 20 :)

A few days ago I hit the thrift store and picked up 20 pairs of kids jeans for a buck a pair.  My intention was to chop and upcycle into zipper bags :D  Chopping and upcycling has now commenced!  I cut up the first pair, saving as much "yardage" as I could.  I don't save seams, I don't save zippers, I don't save snaps - I just save the easy stuff - the fabric sans seams, the pockets (if they're easily removed), the buttons (if they're regular buttons) and the waistband elastic (if it's easily removed).  I know all the parts can be saved and used - I've seen the pins - but I'm not that fond of raw edges and frankly, I think some of the projects made with seams and other bits, are rather ... ummm ... not to my taste *ahem* :D  Here's what I finished up with the denim from one pair of jeans:

Basement photography is awkward!  These are pictures of the same bag, taken within seconds of each other, believe it or not.  On top is the front of the bag, embellished with some of the waistband elastic stitched on :D  In the middle is the back of the bag, with the size tag added :D  The last picture is a close-up of the tag - this zipper bag is now officially a size 16 :)

Here's the next bag - I embellished it with some aliens/spaceship ribbon, and added a zipper pull of the planet Saturn :D

 Here's a bag with one of the jeans pockets attached to the front (it took me quite a while to remove the pockets from the jeans - they're really FIRMLY stitched on!) - the back has another piece of the waistband elastic stitched on :D

 An earbud pouch!  Zipper pull is a scorpion charm from Ebay.  Coincidentally - while I was taking the photo of this bag, I was watching the show Scorpion on TV, haha.  Love that show!

 Here we have a front zip pouch, with the 2nd back pocket stitched on to the front :)

 A two-fer :)  On the left is a Magic Pouch (a tutorial I found recently, and liked so much that this is Magic Pouch #6 to come out of the suddenlysandra Novelty Pouch Factory :D).  On the right - a birdy bag from the book Zakka Handmades by Amy Morinaka :)

Last, but not least, a pirate bag made with a small (about 7" x 7") pirate panel I found in stash - I don't even remember where I got it.  I backed the panel with batting and then quilted it to make the front, then used denim embellished with skull ribbon, for the back.

And there we have it --- 8 little denim bags made from one pair of jeans, some stash supplies and a denim needle :D  I'll be chopping up the next pair of jeans soon, and have picked out a few different projects to work on.   All of these bags, by the way, will be going to Blue Hills - I really wanted to concentrate on bags suitable for boys because I send them a lot of girl stuff - boys definitely need equal representation :D