Whoohoo! My first vintage-hankie-stash busting project is complete!
Thrift some pretty handkerchiefs and recreate my upcycled vintage hankie tote for yourself:
Grab an old totebag and enough coordinating hankies to easily cover the outside of the bag (I used 6).
If you want to be technically correct: Measure the length & width of one side of the bag and then double those measurements for the exact size needed to create the patchwork hankie cover for the bag…
arrange your hankies using the above measurements (or simply eyeball it).
Stitch all of your hankies together.
Zigzag over the outside seams with contrasting thread for a bit of detail & extra strength.
Quick tip: Easily create an interior pocket for your tote using this method & stitch it onto the right side of the tote fabric. (this is a fab way to cover up a tacky logo or print, too!)
Fold your patchworked hankies in half with right sides facing, place your tote on top and mark out the basic shape of the bag.
Stitch the hankie fabric together following your marks, trim off the excess material & zigzag over that seam to help prevent fraying.
Flip your fancy new hankie cover right side out and pop it over the totebag with the wrong sides facing.
Fold under the top of the hankie cover if desired and pin in place.
Stitch together.
Enjoy your pretty new totebag!
Are you digging my fringed sweatshirt? Get the tute to create your own right here + my easy method for perfectly distressed denim over here.
The tote is awesome but is a bit bulky to simply stuff into my purse as is so I figured I’d use a couple of the less than stellar hankies in my stash to transform it into a convenient foldable bag – grab the tute here.
Could you please post a few more close ups of the finished tote? I love this refashioning!
Thanks Candace…I’m not really sure what kind of close-ups you’d like to see though, it’s a very simple project 😀
Your new bag is lovely! Good choice of hankies to go with the colour of the bag. What a simple but effective trick to turn the bag inside out, to be its own lining. Will be using that. I haven’t seen a bag like that in yellow before – did you score it like that, or did you do something with it?
Cheers Alice, the bag was already that groovy canary yellow – it was a promotional freebie from a supermarket (that interior pocket covers the logo 😉 )
Very cute use of the hankies!
Simple but effective and usefully adorable! 🙂
I have some old hankies that need repurposing too!
😀 My DIY divas have shared loads of hankie project ideas over here: https://awesomesauceasshattery.com/2015/08/18/i-need-your-refashion-ideas/