Repurposing a Skirt

One thing I love is shopping at thrift stores.  There is one near me that is the thrift store of all thrift stores.  Each day of the week everything in the store is a set price.  On Tuesdays everything is 50 cents.  A few months ago I found this purple suede skirt.  It was not my size but I thought it would make a great handbag.  Here is the before picture.

 

 

The skirt was a medium weight suede.  It also had a nice lacing detail down the front.  I removed the zipper from the back center and stitched up the seam.  The top of the skirt became the top of the handbag.  The skirt did not have a waistband which allowed for a clean look.   The skirt was lined already, this became the lining of the bag.  I used the bottom portion I cut off to form the straps and embellishments.  The straps even have some of the lacing detail which I left in place.  I attached a magnetic closure to finish.  The whole process took about an hour to complete. 

Here is the finished handbag.

 

 

So the next time you are in a thrift store and find a really cute skirt that is not your size.  Think -- handbag instead.

 

Danna