Hi Sewcialists- Megan from The Green Violet here to tell you about a recent project I undertook in preparation for the holidays. I’ve been making these zipper pouches as gifts for friends and family for years, but this year I challenged myself to make them more sustainable. This post will not be a tutorial on making zipper pouches (though I have linked to two great ones below) but rather information on how to source more sustainable materials and give you some ideas for how to use up fabric scraps.
A few years ago, Kelli at True Bias posted a tutorial for Linen and Leather Zipper Pouches and a lightbulb went off in my head. What a great way to reuse scraps from dress making! As a curvy sewist (and one who is always short on fabric requirements due to poor planning), I can almost never get another garment out of my leftover fabric, however bags are perfect for the small scraps that I have been hoarding because I feel too guilty to throw them away. I haven’t ever really been one for bag making, but since these are all one of a kind and they remind me of different garments I’ve sewn in the past and I find these really fun to make. I took inspiration from Kelli’s post, but I used the bag making process outlined in this post from Purl Soho.
Like I mentioned above, I’ve been making these for a few years and while I felt good about using my garment sewing scraps, I felt bad about buying the rest of the materials new, it seemed like it kinda defeated the purpose of trying to use up scraps! So this year, when I embarked on my annual bag making project in preparation for holiday gift giving, I put a little work into sourcing more sustainable materials. To make these bags, you will need a fashion fabric, a zipper, leather accent, lining fabric, and a fusible interfacing. I have found a satisfactorily sustainable options for all items except for the interfacing. Read on!
The first thing I searched out was zippers. If you have the time and local resources, its pretty easy to find really cheap zippers at the thrift store/charity shop. In my mind, this is a sustainability win, you are keeping unwanted zippers out of the landfill AND no resources were used making new zippers for your project. I had a few in the stash, but second hand resources are scarce here in New Mexico, so I took to the internet for the remainder. I searched both Ebay and Etsy and ended up purchasing a lot of 15 vintage metal zippers for $12 USD (including shipping) from Light and Laughter on Etsy. My best tips are to search for “vintage metals zippers lot” and try to narrow down your search by length or color if you would like to get more specific. With the purchase of a “lot,” you will save money, but you may end up with some zippers that won’t work for this project. Of course, thats what the stash is for, right? And the added bonus is that each bag ends up completely one of a kind!
The next step was sourcing leather, which basically followed the same process. I searched “lot scrap leather” on Ebay and came up with quite a few options. Most of these were sold by weight and the picture in the listing isn’t always exactly what you will be getting, so it is a bit of a gamble. Make sure to read the fine print on these listings. I think most of the sellers were leatherworkers who were selling off scraps too small for their own projects, so purchasing these saves the leather from the landfill. While leather is hardly a susatainble product, at least buying it in scrap from gives something that may have been discarded a second chance! I purchased 13 oz of leather for $20 including shipping from Dundeedog Leather on Ebay. They have a section of their store dedicated to scraps. Below is a sample of what I got, though I had already used a large portion of the tan leather and almost all of the green leather when I took this photo. I think I will be able to get about 15 bags out of this lot of scrap leather.
Next up was sourcing the lining. I conveniently had a few pieces of lining fabric that I had picked up in the thrift store and never used, because I’ve actually never sewn a lined garment! But I’m sure many of you more adventurous garments sewists have some scrap lining fabrics lying around. I used the poly linings from my stash and saved the nicer rayon ones in case the desire to make a lined garment suddenly strikes me.
That leaves me with only the interfacing left to source. On Instagram, someone suggested that I use denim or other heavy fabric scraps as my interfacing. I think this would work well if your “fashion” fabric was a sturdy cotton, however most of mine are rayon challis or similar, so I decided to go with something fusible. Unfortunately, I did have to buy this new, though it is another opportunity for stash busting if you do have a lot of interfacing hanging around you sewing room. Once you’ve gathered all your supplies, you are ready for a bag sewing marathon, just in time for the holiday season.
So where did all these fun fabrics come from, you might be wondering? Here are some dresses that share some striking similarities with the bags above 😉
I hope I’ve given you some ideas for how to use up your fabric scraps and how to make your bag making projects a big more sustainable. Thanks for reading and please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!
All good ideas. Thank you. I always have trouble with my search terms when hunting for things. Thanks for the suggestions. And nice work on the bags!
Thanks so much, Linda. Glad it was helpful!
I have a weird, visceral, negative response to the idea of throwing away interfacing scraps for some reason, so what I sometimes do is piece them together to interface things. It’s all fused in place in the end anyway, so who cares if it’s not one continuous cut of interfacing? It doesn’t obviate the need to buy new interfacing from time to time, but it’s a way to be a bit more resourceful with one’s interfacing requirements. Maybe this little tip will help someone!
Oh, great tip Ciara!! Thats a really good idea. I’m a scrap hoarder too- fabric or interfacing!
I totally do this too, especially on something like a facing. No one’s looking at the underside of that! Plus, I buy the good interfacing and don’t want to waste any at all.
I love the great advice here, and these pouches are amazing. Excellent search advice as well. How many times have we all spent more time searching, than actually buying?
For those side-eyeing the iron-in interfacing: I often use muslin, canvas, or scraps for interfacing – iron-in interfacing hasn’t always been around, and sewn-in has worked for generations – for anyone interested. You can use it as an “underlining.” I buy some iron-in interfacing, but generally buy high-quality from a fashion supply house, and I learned to make zip bags with canvas underlining. The point of a bag’s interfacing is to take the brunt of the weight in a bag – so a substantial underlining will do if you like.
Thank you!! That explanation totally makes sense. Maybe I’ll try it next time, I’m almost out of this fusible interfacing.
I’ve used muslin as a sew-in interfacing on facings before and it’s worked out well for me. It washes better than a lot of interfacings do.
Lovely bags Megan! Thanks for the tip about the leather scraps, I feel quite inspired to search my off-cut stash now and make a few 🙂
Thanks Su! I think you will find you have lots to use in your scraps. Almost anything can be a bag 🙂
I know I commented all over this article, but I love it, and I love reading all of the articles about using scraps. I’m feeling inspired to make bags with some of the weird color zippers I got in eBay lots. 😀
Thanks Angelle! Sounds like a great plan!
All of your bags are just gorgeous! As are the fabrics you chose for your lovely dresses! I have done this in the past and donated my rather large pile of “make-up” bags I called them to a woman’s shelter. I asked my husband if we could first fill them with goodies and a quick trip to a local store and they had new tooth brushes, paste, hair accessories, etc..and we dropped them off with a note saying “we wish all woman well!” Later we heard the shelter started a sewing program!!!! How cool is that! You never know what might just motivate a person. But a bucket load of pretty scraps always gives me a thrill!!! <3 <3 <3
That is so great!!
These are really cute, and thank you for including the google search terms and sources in your post! Its so helpful to have tried and trusted places to buy from, especially when it comes to second hand.
Thanks, Kate! I agree! It’s really hard to find these at second hand shops here in New Mexico so it’s nice to have the internet for that!
These are wonderful tips! Thank you for sharing – I also really love the design of your bags. Rounded edges always make me swoon! I’m going to take some inspiration and try to motivate myself to make some for holidays gifts 😉
What pattern is your blue dress (is it a Fen?)? It looks fantastic on you!
I also wanted to share an idea – I’m really scrappy and used to make bags much more frequently. In the past, I have asked family members to give me their handbags/purses once they have used them to their fullest and no longer want them. Then I deconstruct the bag to reuse the zipper, clasps, metal pieces (like O & D-rings), etc. I’ve also picked up bags at thrift stores before for the same reason. In addition to searching for vintage hardware online, another great place to pick up second-hand supplies is on Instagram – you can search destash tags like #thegreatfabricdestash & often find supplies.
Thanks again for sharing this inspiring post!
Great tip!! I may get more into bag making because I have soooo many scraps, so I will keep that in mind. Yes, my blue dress is the Fen!
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