Military Wife Purse From ABU Shirt

Custom Gear From Old Military Uniforms

Show your pride in your favorite military member with a stylish bag!

When my girlfriend asked me to do this project, I didn't have the first clue where to start. I've never made a bag before and have limited sewing knowledge. Did I let that stop me, of course not! She mailed me the shirt and oh, did I mention she wanted bamboo handles? She's lucky I love her, because this just got harder...I was scratching my head for a good month before I felt confident enough to start. 

 I looked all over the internet but didn't find any patterns I liked (not that there are that many) so, I found a picture of a purse that I thought was stylish and simple. Well, turned out not to be so simple and my design changed daily to accommodate problems I was running into.

 I sketched out a pattern on some large paper of the shape I wanted and started cutting. The pattern for the outside of the purse was a little wider than for the lining because I wanted to do a little gathering in the center.

I used interfacing on the bottom/side pieces of the ABU fabric and then on the front/back of the flower lining to make it more stiff so it will keep its shape better. The fabric to hold the handles is four pieces of crescent shaped material sewn together also using interfacing in between.

After the outside and lining pieces were put together, I placed one inside the other and lined up the edges. I connected these together with the black binding. I used a smaller binding on the edge of the fabric for the handles. Last, I sewed the handles on to the outside of the bag.

There are a couple pockets on the inside that I sewed into the lining before I put it all together. 

I'm not done yet! I still have bits of shirt left, so...

We've got an across the body bag for her daughter,

and a name tape bracelet and cuff for her two sons!

I'm super proud of this project and am truly amazed that it came out actually looking like a purse. 

Please support our military and their families.