I’m slowly but surely upcycling my stash of pretty vintage handkerchiefs and have so far created a fab floaty maxiskirt, some delightful decor and a fancy schmancy tote bag:
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:
Awesome eh?
Here’s how to make an easy foldable tote bag for yourself:
Grab an existing tote + a couple of thrifted handkerchiefs or leftover fabric squares.
Lay your hankies together on a flat surface then fold or roll your tote as small as you can and center it on top of the fabric squares then mark out the basic pocket size needed to accommodate the folded tote. (or just eyeball it)
Use your size marks as a guide and stitch the hankies together with the back of the pocket a couple of centimeters longer than the front at the top of the open end – this makes it easier to pop the folded tote in and out of the pocket once it’s attached.
Flip the tote inside out and stitch that longer side of the open end of the storage pocket to the top of one side of the inside of the tote between the handles.
Flip the tote right side out, pop out the storage pocket and fold or roll the bag up.
Slip the tote inside of the fancy new storage pocket.
And enjoy your convenient, easy to transport tote bag!
pssst! If you recreate this or any of my projects be sure to share your version with my CoaR facebook page!
Continue your passion for refashion with my Confessions of a Refashionista e-book series:
