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Mod Purse Refashion, a Tutorial

The mod purse refashion is officially my first project inspired by Instagram. Are you guys on IG yet? I am addicted, and its bad. I follow all of these amazing people, and see all of these amazing photographs, that at some point it was bound to happen. I got inspired.  Susan of Freshly Picked is the particularly hip IGer that inspired this purse. She has such fabulous usage of triangles in her creations, that I pretty soon wanted to try my hand at it.

I pretty much L-O-V-E the way this purse turned out. Refashioned from an old leather purse found at the Salvation Army, recycling all of the original purse’s hardware, and using hand stamped fabric for the top…

Its my new favorite purse.  I know this may sound hard to believe, but it was actually relatively easy to make! Especially if you skip the hand-stamping your own fabric bit.  Of course, I say this assuming you know your way well around a sewing machine.

Let me show you what I did.


 

MOD PURSE REFASHION DIY

mod purse refashion DIY

 


How to upcycle an old purse

First off, you will need your own thrifted leather purse. Check with your local thrift stores – ours runs a promotion in which every Wednesday things are 50% off. Score.

Now, time for the fabric. Skip this step and just use your own already designed fabric to simplify things. Otherwise Ashley at Lil Blue Boo has a great tutorial for hand stamping fabric.

Once again, you find me using my children’s toys as sewing / DIY supplies. Sorry Ben. This triangle just happened to be the perfect size.

I only use the glue to secure the hardware back onto the bag initially. Once it dries, sew around everything as best you can!

And there you have it, a super mod bag. Giving life to old purses everywhere!

I will totally be rocking this at ALT.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and until next time…happy sewing!

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accessories// diy42 Comments

About Jess

When I was a young girl, my nickname was Jessica Rabbit. Fast forward 20 years, and I am married to the love of my life who, as fate would have it, has the last name Abbott. That's me! Jessica R. Abbott - aka, Jess Rabbit. Simply living a happy, yet crazy, love-filled life in Virginia Beach with 3 kids and 1 puppy in tow. Read More…

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Comments

  1. Mia Romaguera says

    January 14, 2013 at 9:21 am

    wwoooww!!! super, super cool!! I really love it! it’s a great job! I take note of this! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Sonia Fonseca says

    January 14, 2013 at 9:38 am

    Guau !!! Un bolso fantástico!!
    besitos

    Reply
  3. Maryanne says

    January 14, 2013 at 10:01 am

    Hi Jessica – you have taken a bag that is ho hum and turned it into something fab!! I am definitely going to give leather sewing a go!!

    Reply
  4. Heather Feather says

    January 14, 2013 at 1:55 pm

    Fantastic! I love the leather paired with mod, and the hand stamping is so creative! Isn’t hand stamping so fun? Great job!

    Reply
  5. Reecea Henderson says

    January 14, 2013 at 2:34 pm

    Love the bag re-style. Turned out terrific!

    Reply
  6. kate says

    January 14, 2013 at 3:11 pm

    I LOVE this Jessica!! You’re amazing.

    Reply
  7. Rachel says

    January 14, 2013 at 3:26 pm

    This is incredible! I love it. So unique and fun!

    Reply
  8. Kristie says

    January 14, 2013 at 3:28 pm

    Way cute. And I bet waiting for the glue to dry was horrible. Especially when it is something as exciting as a purse!

    Reply
  9. Shannon and Betsy @ 2ndstorysewing.blogspot.com says

    January 14, 2013 at 4:35 pm

    What a great idea…I would have never thought to do that! Thanks for the inspiration, Shannon

    Reply
  10. Jenn Meckley says

    January 14, 2013 at 4:41 pm

    Cute! What is you Instagram user name?? I love Instagram too!

    Reply
    • Jessica at Me Sew Crazy says

      January 14, 2013 at 5:01 pm

      Thank you Jenn! You can find me @jessrabbott

      Reply
  11. {jen} iCandyhandmade says

    January 14, 2013 at 4:59 pm

    For sure want to make one of these!! Brilliant.

    Reply
  12. Miranda says

    January 14, 2013 at 5:19 pm

    This turned out awesome! Love it Jess. Can’t wait to see it in person:)

    Reply
  13. TheSewingLoft says

    January 14, 2013 at 6:56 pm

    Great upcycle. Did you ad pockets to the inside or is the lining printed?
    ~Heather

    Reply
  14. Mandy Pellegrin says

    January 14, 2013 at 7:25 pm

    Looks so great! I love it! I’ve never even thought of cutting into a thrifted find, but this was a great idea.

    Reply
  15. Kimbo West says

    January 14, 2013 at 8:06 pm

    i ADORE THIS.

    Reply
  16. Erin says

    January 15, 2013 at 1:40 am

    so cute! i love how you used the original hardware too… i’ll never look at s thrift store purse the same again! 🙂

    Reply
  17. Sunae Reilly says

    January 15, 2013 at 1:47 am

    ooh I love it! This is such a great idea!

    Reply
  18. Straight Grain says

    January 15, 2013 at 9:20 am

    Waw! This is one pretty bag. Absolutely gorgeous!

    Reply
  19. Jane Skoch says

    January 15, 2013 at 12:12 pm

    Great refashion!

    Reply
  20. bohemiannie! art says

    January 15, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    really cute!

    Reply
  21. Cindy says

    January 15, 2013 at 1:42 pm

    This is a fabulous idea…makes me want to run out and do a little thrifting!

    Reply
  22. Laura @ ON{thelaundry}LINE says

    January 15, 2013 at 3:44 pm

    hmmm… I’m still giving purses the stinkeye. I have this teal leather Tommy Hilfiger purse I thrifted and it’s almost a bit sporty for me, it has kind a a similar shape to it…. it could make a really good bottom to a bigger purse. Hmmmmm. Decisions, decisions!

    Reply
  23. sallyavena says

    January 15, 2013 at 3:50 pm

    What a great idea! Love the look!

    Reply
  24. Trish says

    January 15, 2013 at 3:54 pm

    What great inspiration! LOVE it! How did you manage to sew around the tabs that have the grommets on them??

    Reply
    • Jessica at Me Sew Crazy says

      January 15, 2013 at 3:57 pm

      Great question, one I should have answered in the post! I used my zipper foot!

      Reply
  25. Kristie says

    January 15, 2013 at 8:54 pm

    I love how you can take a short purse and make a taller purse out of it. Thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  26. Sachiko Aldous says

    January 16, 2013 at 4:41 am

    You are one clever girl Jessica! I love how it turned out!

    Reply
  27. marissa | Rae Gun Ramblings says

    January 16, 2013 at 5:32 am

    I absolutely adore this! You’re definitely making me want to hack some purses apart. I think I need to jump on the stamping trend it looks so fun and I love the effect.

    Reply
  28. harleywife57 says

    January 16, 2013 at 2:20 pm

    this is awesome !

    Reply
  29. Amy (naptimecrafters) says

    January 17, 2013 at 1:01 am

    Awesome!! I may have to give this idea a go when I’m ready for another diaper bag. I don’t have many chances to use a purse these days 🙂

    Reply
  30. Beverly {Flamingo Toes} says

    January 17, 2013 at 4:11 am

    Ok seriously Jessica??? This is crazy awesome!! I will definitely be on the hunt for some bags to take apart now – I love it!

    Reply
  31. 2chance says

    January 17, 2013 at 10:56 am

    Great Great Great!
    I MUST try this!
    Thank you very much for sharing 🙂

    Lucia

    Reply
  32. connie sua says

    March 31, 2013 at 10:03 am

    Ohhhhh!!! I found your web in pinterest, !! that´s beautiful !! You will see me here many times. Hugs,

    Reply
  33. Lisa {grey luster girl} says

    August 2, 2013 at 3:51 pm

    Wow! What a transformation! I love it so much that I am pinning it as we speak.

    Reply
  34. stephanie says

    December 10, 2013 at 7:45 am

    this is genius! I love it. I love freshly picked too. She is going to be on the podcast in January and I am so excited. She has such cute stuff too.

    Reply
  35. Sarah Helene says

    April 9, 2014 at 6:07 pm

    LOVE, LOVE this unique idea for re-purposing a leather purse, adding hand-stamped fabric for the top — to make a larger bag, plus adding the leather straps. THANKS for sharing. I agree with so many of the previous comments. I plan to use these instructions soon. Sarah in Minneapolis

    Reply
  36. Aysel says

    October 14, 2015 at 2:04 am

    what a lovely idea,now i know what to do with all my old bag.THANK YOU!!!!

    Reply

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Hello, it’s me.

When I was a young girl, my nickname was Jessica Rabbit. Fast forward 20 years, and I am married to the love of my life who, as fate would have it, has the last name Abbott. That's me! Jessica R Abbott - aka, Jess Rabbit. Read More…

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