Woven Felted Sweater and Denim Purse

I’ve been thinking about trying this technique for a while, and the other day I just sat down and did it. I really like how it turned out and have plans to make more with different felted sweater scraps. Yes, I am still working through my felted sweater scrap stash!!

Here’s how I made this cute purse:

I started with a pair of jeans- I cut a 12 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ piece on a fold- (so the actual size of the piece of denim is 12 1/2″ x 17″)  from the pant leg. Here I used the seam of the jeans at the fold.

Then I looked in my stash of felted sweater scraps and chose 3 pieces that I thought looked nice together. I cut them into strips about 10″ long by 2″ wide. They don’t have to be exactly the same size, and if you end up with smaller pieces, you can always use them at the corners, or stitch them together.

I placed the felted strips on the denim and wove them as if I was making a lattice crust on a pie. I used the longer strips toward the center, and saved the shorter ones for the corners. I had to sew two of the blue strips together because I didn’t have one long enough, but I was able to hide the seam under one of the other strips,  so you would never know.

After I had all the strips woven, I pinned them to the denim along the edges. Then I stitched along the edges to secure. I really liked the way this looked, and while the woven strips would stay in place, I figured that it would be too easy for them to get caught on things since this was going to be a purse.

So, I  stitched the strips down the  middle to secure them. I only sewed down the strips going one way, not the other, but you could sew them all down if you like. At this point, I sewed the sides together, trimmed the seams and pressed the purse flat.

For the lining, I chose some cotton fabric that I had tie-dyed a few summers ago. I cut a piece the same size as the denim piece. I also cut a smaller piece for a pocket.

I pressed the pocket piece under 1/2″ on all sides, then stitched the top close to the edge.

I placed the pocket on the lining and stitched the sides and bottom. Then I stitched the sides of the lining
together. I also added a magnetic snap to the lining at this stage.

At this point, I cut 2 pieces of denim for the strap 24″ long and 2 1/2″ wide. I sewed the 2 pieces together along one of the short ends to make one long strap. I pressed the strap in half longways and then folded the edges inward and pressed again. I sewed the strap close to the edge and then pinned each end to the purse.

With right sides together, pin the lining to the purse and stitch, leaving a 4″ opening to turn.

I turned the right sides out and pressed the lining inside the purse. I then stitched close to the top edge of
the purse, closing up the opening that was left to turn the purse.

And there you have it. I can totally see using this woven technique to make throw pillows as well. What do you think? What else could you do with this technique?