DIY Handbag Makeover – Update An Ugly/Old Handbag

We all have our moments of error in judgement, especially while shopping online. It happened to me recently during a handbag purchase. Now, I know quality is better than quantity, but when you have to tote around snacks and other stuff for a little one, you just might rethink that, right?! My bags do take a beating and a girl needs variety, right again?!!

So when I saw this brown ‘suede’ handbag for a bargain, I didn’t think twice. The thumbnail sized image didn’t help much. I knew it couldn’t be real good suede, but I didn’t expect it to be so ‘meh’ or ‘blah’ either. Here it is in all it’s ‘un’glory. I liked the hardware accent, though.

Sending it back was out of the question. It would have cost more than the bag itself. So I decided it was a good DIY makeover candidate. Why not cover it with a fun fabric? Fabric totes are all the rage now, and since I cannot operate a sewing machine (yet), this was as close as I was going to get to making my own fabric tote.

I decided to go with this little leftover bit of fabric. Remember this one, from my spring cushion cover project?

I hemmed the fabric edges first. I then sewed the fabric on to the handbag. I started near one of the handbag sides.

I was unsure how to finish the bottom. I had no template and I generally have no patience with measuring stuff.

So I just did the best I could, folding the extra fabric in and sewing them in place. It was a little tricky at the bottom corners.

I finished by sewing the short side seam into one of the handbag side tucks, which left the handbag front and back sides neat. The picture below will do a better job of explaining it!

I can’t seem to decide whether to keep or remove the front flap. Maybe I could just hide it inside one of the pouches. And since the pouches are zippered, I didn’t make any holes for the magnetic closure in the flap.

Here it is ready for an outing.

Mommy’s hat and sunglasses – check.

Boy’s hat – check.

Sunscreen – check.

Juice – check.

Toy car – check! We are ready to go!!

I think it is not too bad if you don’t inspect the sewing in detail! And I can use it while running small errands and for trips to the park in the summer. Anything is better than brown!!!

Here is the before and after for comparison.

This is an easy update for an old handbag. You get the look of a fabric tote and have the handbag as a template to work with. All you need is a fun fabric big enough to cover your handbag and some basic sewing supplies.

Do you like it? Have you made any bad shopping choices, and if yes, how did you salvage it? Any other ideas on how I could have updated it? All comments are welcome!

Here is another fun ‘Before & After’ type makeover project : My painted chair-turned-stool

Another ‘not-so-perfect’ sewing project: Spring Cushion Covers

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I am linking this up to June Before And After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick, Fun In The Sun Link Party at DIY Show Off, and to parties at these awesome blogs.

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