Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to make a couple of purses. I made the purses for my mother. She loves purses and I was in the mood to sew, but I didn’t want to sew a full outfit or whatnot.
The first purse I made was a quick upcycle of a pair of jeans turned purse. For the most part I followed a tutorial I found on Pinterest, but can’t seem to find it now. Basically you cut the bottom of the jeans off, and then cut open the pant legs, up to the zipper.
![Upcycled Jean Purse](https://i0.wp.com/akramsideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/akrams-ideas-jean-purse.jpg?resize=770%2C403)
You sew the now open pant leg to the other side, so they lay flat. Next I found some contrasting fabric to sew around the bottom. My mom loves pink, so pink fabric it was. I also used the pink fabric for the lining.
The jeans were torn to begin with (that’s why I was up cycling them), so I only had a few good spots of denim left. I used the leftover denim for an inside pocket and for the outer side of the strap.
![Inside pocket of purse](https://i0.wp.com/akramsideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/akrams-ideas-jean-purse-inside.jpg?resize=770%2C403)
I also made a cute bow out of some leftover pink fabric to go through the belt loops on the outside of the purse.
After making the purse, I loved it! But I was worried that my mother may think it was too kiddy for her. So I decided to make another purse.
![Happy with how the purse turned out](https://i2.wp.com/akramsideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/akrams-ideas-completed-jean-purse.jpg?resize=770%2C403)
This time I used vintage McCalls 7760 pattern from the late 60’s. Again, I knew I wanted to make a pink purse, because my mom lives in pink.
As it turns out I had just enough of the glittery pink corduroy fabric from my sister’s art bag project, left over. The weight of the fabric was just right for a purse.
![Vintage McCalls 7760 pattern from my stash](https://i2.wp.com/akramsideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/akrams-ideas-McCalls-7760.jpg?resize=770%2C770)
I followed the pattern for the most part, however I did make a few changes. The lining of the purse is cut shorter, so that the outer purse fabric folds over and is slipped stitched to the lining.
If you don’t know already I hate hand sewing, it’s not pretty. So, Instead I made the outer fabric and lining both the same length. Then I folded over the seam allowance and sewed the whole thing together inside out. Leaving a small opening for turning at the bottom of the purse. Yes, I got away with only a few hand in the bottom corner where no one will see.
What I love about this is the inclusion of a stiffening board pocket at the bottom. This gives the purse structure and stability. For the board I used some corrugated plastic board I had laying around (don’t ask me where I got it, I don’t know).
I used a small amount of denim I had for the lining, but didn’t have enough for the straps. I wasn’t sure what to do, and then I found a small amount of purple corduroy remnants in my stash.
I really liked how the purple and pink worked together, but felt I needed more purple. So I ended up making a giant fabric flower out of some scrap purple and pink fabric. I made the flower as a pin, so that it can be removed if my mother didn’t like it.
![View of flower and clasp](https://i2.wp.com/akramsideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/akrams-ideas-pink-corduroy-purse-flower.jpg?resize=770%2C403)
Lastly I had been given this cute knob button of a flower, I only had two and wasn’t sure when I’d ever use it. I thought the purple and pink of the button would really add to the purse, pulse gives it a closure.
Last item I made was the matching clutch from the original pattern. It came out very nice. I added a small strap to the clutch, because I like straps on clutches.
After making the second purse I thought it might look even more childish than the first. I just have that personality to make overly cute things, sorry. As it turns out my mother liked them both.
![Purse and matching Clutch](https://i2.wp.com/akramsideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/akrams-ideas-pink-corduroy-purse-clutch.jpg?resize=770%2C403)
Well, of course who wouldn’t, I did make them after all. All joking aside, I’m really happy how well the purse came out and my mother just loves the jean purse. She says it has a pocket for everything.
Now that I made these purses, I really want to make a few purses for myself. However, I don’t think I’ll have time at the moment with all sorts of things going on. But soon, very soon I will make myself a purse.
![Akram's Ideas: A Pair of Pink Purses](https://i1.wp.com/akramsideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/akrams-ideas-pair-pink-purses-pin-683x1024.jpg?resize=683%2C1024)
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