The repurposed skirt

I recently bought a book called "the perfect handmade bag".  The author encourages one to reuse fabric from old clothes to make purses and bags. What a great idea! especially considering how expensive fabric can be! If you're interested in checking out this book I've listed it in my side bar.
This last week I made a trip to the thrift store and found a skirt for $3!

I haven't price checked it yet, but I'm pretty sure I could not have gotten that fabric at the store for any cheaper, in fact, it probably would have cost considerably more!
I have to say, I LOVE this way of sewing! Going to the thrift store, or even just looking through my own clothes, and imagining how I can take something used up and make it cute again is sooo fun! You really must try it!
I had planned to use the lining of the skirt for the lining of the bag, but it ended up being really terrible to work with, as in puckering in all the wrong places and doing everything I didn't want it to do! I started to think I'd have to make a run to the fabric store for some lining, when my Mom reminded me that she had all my sisters old dress up clothes in storage. Wow! What a treasure trove of fabric! I see many new bags and purses coming up! I hope my sister doesn't mind, but seeing as she doesn't play dress up any more I think she'll be ok with it. In the pile was an old black taffeta gown. It was falling apart at the seems just begging to be repurposed. It worked so much better and was very easy to work with!
Here it is! I'm so happy with how it came out!

Something cool about this bag is that the handle is interchangeable! Pair it with a light weight, fluttery scarf that matches your outfit and away you go!
The book shows you how to add these cute little tags to personalize your bag a bit, which is such a fun idea.

Just a few months ago I would never have thought I could sew something like this! One step at a time!

Happy sewing!