Athena-Direct

I’m REALLY new to sewing. Like less than five projects in.

Introduction: A simple travel/cosmetic case that can be created in an afternoon can make for a very fun project. Using recycled denim is a nice step for protecting our environment.

Skills needed/learned with tutorial – ability to insert a zipper; calculating out seam allowances; box corners

Difficulty level? Beginner (but maybe after you’ve done at least one other project with a zipper first) 

This was my second project with a zipper, first project with denim and maybe fifth sewing project in my whole life.

Equipment needed: Sewing machine, good fabric scissors and a good method for accurately measuring fabric before cutting.

Time spent – less than two hours – probably would have been a lot less if I was more experienced

Materials used (affiliate links included)

* denim I recycled from a couple of old pairs of jeans – four pieces 5 1/4″ x 10″, two pieces 5 1/2″ x 10″

* two left over fat quarters from a previous project  – two pieces 15″ x 10″

* medium weight interfacing – two pieces 15″ x 10″

LESSON LEARNED: I probably would have had an easier time with the boxed corners if I had either used light weight interfacing or none at all; denim was pretty firm as it was

* a 12″ zipper I had bought from a set of 6 for another project 

LESSON LEARNED: pattern called for 16″ zipper so once I got the zipper sewn in and realized that the project was going to be too wide – so I ended up just trimming the fabric down to 12″ instead 15″

* a small length of 1″ webbing left over from another project

LESSON LEARNED: I ought to have used a 2″ width webbing for appearance

FREE PATTERN USED from Mary Martha Mama DIY Toiletries Bag

Notes: 

Pattern was super easy to understand. Bag works up really quickly. I ran into a few problems when I was trying to seam the corner and the outer fabric corners at the same time. I probably would have been fine with either a) not using interfacing or a lighter interfacing or b) keeping the 15″ width. I also had to rip out the zippper seaming at least once when I realized the lining fabric was applied with the wrong side.

I didn’t have any pieces of denim that were 15″ x 10″ – so instead I cut out the pieces as identified above and using a 1/4″ seam allowance I created two pieces that were 15″ x 10″. The larger 5 1/2″ pieces in the center were from a slightly lighter colored denim than the end pieces that were 5 1/4″ each. The color of denim were pretty close, i think if I made another pair, I’d select denim pieces that were more different for showing off the color differences.

I would TOTALLY make this again. I’d love to see it in stripes of different denim colors or even just patches.

My son has already claimed it for his electric razor and other toiletries.

Could you make money???

Recycling denim that would otherwise land in a landfill? Priceless. Make sure that you communicate the resourcefulness and recycling to the customers.

And denim’s popularity is skyrocketing right now (published March 2024).

My cost was approximately $6 for the lining, interfacing, zipper and thread. Not counting the free denim. 

You could save money on supplies by buying lining fabric by the yard/on sale/or otherwise in bulk and buying zippers in bulk. Lining choices could be done with simple fabrics for universal appeal and/or colorful/fun fabric for a ‘I HAVE TO HAVE THIS’ pop of color. I used simple black webbing and black zipper – but again, a pop of color could be really fun. 

Doing multiples would be more efficient time-wise. If you made say – 10 bags in one go, you could probably make them in two hours. 

If so – setting yourself up for $15/hour x 2 hours and if you got good discounts on the fabric/zippers you could easily make back the cost of your time and supplies with a price of $6/bag. Not including the cost of actually selling the items.

If you get creative enough with your recycled denim … I think it would be really easy to charge $10/bag or more (depending on your market).

There are so many ways you can personalize your bags.

• Adding touches of needlework would make a cute item.
• Fabric mod podge can add a little flare with little work
• Substituting lining fabric with specialty fabric (think kittens, dogs, favorite colors, etc) and can really help find a customer who cannot walk away.
• Find colored denim or floral denim for a real pop

These touches can add time & expense; but can also allow you to charge more for the right buyer. And if you are looking to sell, you want to find the buyer who just cannot walk away.

If you are making these for fun or for gifts, you can use licensed fabric – like Star Wars, Marvel, Hello Kitty, etc. Licensed fabric should not be used for items for sale as they would require a licensing agreement with the owners of the images prior to selling them.