When I was 19 or 20, I remember actually holding a “funeral” for my favourite pair of patchwork batik baggy trousers… I lived in them… they were part of me… yet I was not in a position (at the time I was at university) to maintain their repairs… alas… they were falling apart… and my housemates staged an intervention and helped me to part with them… (I still miss that specific pair now! They were purples and dark blues, and so comfy…).
These days, I try and keep up with repairs – with such patchwork baggy trousers, this is fairly easy – just add another patch! However, there does come a point where you find yourself doing this far too regularly…
Since I started this blog, I have not bought any (new) clothing – favouring the occasional bargain from a local charity shop (where I found the summer walking trousers of my dreams, by the way – just ask Sarah – I don’t shut up about them!), so the decision to dispose of dilapidated clothing is a difficult one. So I started looking around for ways to upcycle the trousers and skirts I owned into something new and useful, rather than them going to waste (I do not think ANY charity shop would have accepted any of my discarded clothing haha!).
I am in a sewing group on Facebook (for all its faults, Facebook is the source of great inspiration for us crafty sorts!) and saw a link to a video on how to make an Origami Bag!
So i set to disassembling, and reassembling into one long piece of fabric, a tatty old pair of trousers… the resulting bag was awesome!
In fact, I loved it so much, I made 2 more for friends… One out of batik trousers, and one out of an old pair of jeans!
It is such an easy pattern – perfect for anyone starting out with sewing: A beginner’s project with a great looking, functional, result!
So I taught my friend Sarah to sew by making one! Now, all my tatty trousers and skirts are being slowly reformed into long strips of fabric with such projects in mind!
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