Jean/Denim Pocket Purse

So Tom decided the other day to get rid of a couple pairs of his jeans because he's starting to put on the belly ;) But no, seriously... One pair the fly wouldn't stay up and the other pair pinched his "package".

I told him not to get rid of them since I could recycle the denim into something else. When I was a kid I always wanted to make the ol' denim pocket purse. I knew I would never use for myself since I have the tendency to need a backpack for everything I carry. So I decided to make it for Mac since she has a weird obsession with purses lately.

What started off as a "pass the time" project ended up being a really cute purse. I decided to use Grandma's old sewing machine to sew the denim together in the shape of a pocket. Originally this was supposed to be a very plain purse made only for the enjoyment of my daughter. I was going to simply just attach a strip of denim for the strap and glue the pocket on the front and call it a day. As I looked at it, I realized it had the potential to be so much more.

I decided that it needed an inside lining and because I had intentions of leaving the red Levi's tag attached for "authenticity" I figured it'd look better if the inside lining was the same colour as the tag. Tom had brought home tons of red bandannas from work for the kids and the dog; the print on it made for an awesome lining.

For the handle, I braided three long strips of denim and sewed the ends to keep the braid intact. I sewed the handle to the inside of the purse and inserted the lining.

With a little bit of fabric glue...I attached the pocket to the front.

Here's the finished picture...

The purse came out way better than I expected or originally planned and Mac couldn't be happier. :D