Detachable Belt Fanny Pack DIY

Kicking off the New Year of tutorials with…fanny packs.  Ha! I swear I have not gone off my rocker, I actually think this is totally cool.  You see, I needed an easy place to hold my camera when I didn’t feel like carrying it in my hands, around my neck, or in a super large camera bag.  That’s when the detachable belt leather fanny pack was born.  This easy DIY was upcycled from an old fake leather purse, but can easily be made with new leather or other heavier fabrics too.  The loop on the back allows it to easily attach to any belt you have on hand, making this the perfect camera case / fanny pack / hands free purse. I happen to love it, and am seriously considering rocking it at ALT Summit.

Detachable Belt Fanny Pack DIY

Materials Needed:

• Belt
• Old Leather Purse, or approximately 36″ x 6.5″ piece of  leather or other heavy fabric
• Suede string or other ribbon
• Hole punch
• Basic Sewing Essentials (strong thick needle, binder clips or pins, thread, sewing machine, roller foot optional)

Instructions:

1. If upcycling a purse, you will need to make sure it has enough leather to be able to cover all of the pieces needed.
2. Cut the following: (3) 6.5″W x 6″L for ‘Front’ & ‘Back’ & ‘Flap’ pattern pieces, (1) 4.5″W x 17″L for ‘Side’ pattern piece, (1) 1.5″W x 5″L for ‘Loop’ pattern piece, Various strips of 1″W scrap leather for binding.  Curve the bottom 2 edges of your ‘Front’ and ‘Back’ pattern pieces slightly. This isn’t necessary, but will help make the sewing easier.
3. Take your ‘Back’ pattern piece, and using binder clips or pins attach the ‘Side’ pattern piece right sides together around the side and bottom edges.  Sew.
4. Repeat Step 3 for ‘Front’ pattern piece, and opposite edge of the ‘Side’.
5. Turn bag right side out, and using your scrap 1″ leather pieces, sew around the top raw edge as if it were bias tape.
6. Take your ‘Flap’ pattern piece, and finish the top and side edges with more leather bias tape. No need to finish the bottom of side of the ‘Flap’ piece, as it will be inside the bag / purse.
7. Take your ‘Loop’ piece and attach it to the ‘Back’ center of your purse. Pin both side edges, and sew around in a small square to secure. *Make sure your ‘Loop’ piece is going up and down, and NOT left to right! You want it to be able to slip onto the belt, and stay upright. Now, slip the bottom edge of your ‘Flap’ piece to the inside ‘Back’, pinning the bottom of the ‘Flap’ edge just underneath the bias tape trim. Your ‘Flap’ should be right side facing out.  Sew. (*Please note, the flap piece in these photos also has a ‘loop’ looking piece attached to it. This was due to the nature of the upcycled purse, and has no function whatsoever).
8. Using your hole punch, snip various holes around the upper edge of your bag all around. Make sure one is in the very front center of your purse.
9. Slip suede string or other ribbon through the holes.  Cut string to your desired length, making sure the string is long enough to still hang down when the bag is not cinched and that you are able to tie a bow with it.
10. Cinch your bag closed, slip over a belt, and you are finished! 

Fanny Pack lovers…unite!

Ok, I am kidding about that. Please – do not sport nylon fanny packs in public unless you are at Disneyworld. But as for this? It is totally cool.  And it HAS to look better than your back pocket having a rectangle phone shape.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and until next time…Happy Sewing!