I've had this wool shoulder bag since about 6th grade, and used it so much throughout junior high and high school that the bag became riddled with several fist-sized and almond-sized holes and tears. I wasn't ready to part with it, and I've been dying to use it without provoking more damage.
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| Yeah, it's this bad...these are the large holes, on each bottom corner. |
I decided that I could both reinforce the bag and update it to fit my
tastes now (as it was embellished by a preteen me). I followed the
seamlines of the bottom of the bag, measured out a rectangle tapered at
the ends to fit the space, added seam allowances, and cut out the shape
from a scrap of black poly cotton. Thinking back, I should've also
added some interfacing, but this was such a quick project (completed in
15 minutes) that I could easily re-do it.
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| A clean, invisible slipstitch makes the black fabric look like it was part of the bag all along. |
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| I removed that dirty pink fabric flower and used a thrift store scarf (with a pheasant motif) as a pop of color instead! |
Now this refreshed bag can be re-incorporated into my wardrobe, and the gaping tears have been subdued (for now). The black fabric looks original to the bag, and the more mature styling updates it. Yay for quick projects!
