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Gifted tote bags from charities... |
The socks and the gloves get used, but in the past, I've tossed these tote
bags in with my clothing donations to Goodwill.
Recently, I pulled one of them out and thought, hmm... this is waterproof
material. And sort of nice looking. What if I were to take these apart and
make something else out of them?
My first inkling was to make a different style of bag, but then an idea
that I had previously seen on Sew4Home occurred to me: I would
turn these into outdoor seat cushions.
The ones from Sew4Home were round. I like round but I hate the waste that's required to get there. Therefore, I decided not to cut away any of the material by keeping its essential shape. These finished out to a 17" x 17" (about 43cm) square.
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| ... transformed into an outdoor seat cushion... |
The original bags feature a zippered front pocket with a center compartment
that closes with a piece of hook and loop tape.
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| Original format of tote bag with a zippered front pocket (inset shows back view)... |
After taking a seam ripper to the whole thing, I ended up with a zipper, a
couple of webbing straps, a floral print panel and a (larger) black panel.
The top facings and lining of the pocket weren't part of the repurposing.
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| Stripped down... |
Because of the availability of a full width zipper, I decided to make the
finished item a cover only; i.e., you can put whatever you like inside
to provide the cushioning and it can be removed for cleaning.
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| Make a tube out of the two pieces of material... |
Construction is fairly simple. First, sew the printed panel to the black panel
to create a tube. (I used a 3/8" seam allowance for the whole project.)
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| Fold the two ends evenly... |
Fold the tube so that the black material appears evenly along both sides.
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| Cut open the middle of the back panel... |
Flip the whole thing over and cut the back panel in half right down the
middle. This will accommodate the zipper. But first...
With the tube now open, it's easy to run a line of topstitching along the two seams. Secure the entire seam allowance against the black panel.
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| Top stitch the two existing seams... |
Now it's time to attach the zipper. Remember that the right side of the zipper tape always faces the right side of the fabric.
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| Attach the zipper... |
With wrong side of the fabric facing out, ensure that the black material along the sides is evenly distributed once again. Clip in place and use something to mark and round off the corners.
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| Round off the corners... |
Take the webbing from one original bag strap and cut it in half. Slip it inside under the zipper and clip it in place as shown below. Use a couple more clips on the end of the zipper to ensure that the seams lie open and flat.
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| Add a handle using the webbing... |
Before you start sewing up the sides, make sure that the zipper is at
least partly open.
Stitch it up, turn it right side out and it's ready to use!
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| Turned right side out and done... |
This cushion cover can now be filled however you want. It's a great
opportunity for repurposing if you have textiles that you can save from
the landfill.
For example, I think we all have towels that have outlived their prime. Those that are no longer suitable for in home use are relegated to drying off vehicles. But even those eventually become less than optimal; that's what I decided to pack into this cushion cover.
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| One way to use old towels... |
One might also see this as an opportunity to recycle old pillows. Depending on original size, you may be able to fill two cushion covers with one pillow (since you don't necessarily want these as puffy as a regular pillow).
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| View of back... |
Before I decided to make use of the zipper and have this project be just a cover, I thought about sewing old pieces of clothing together and using them to fill the cushion. But the adjunct to that original idea — to quilt the whole thing so that everything would stay in place — was ultimately tossed because all that stitching would punch too many holes in the material. That said, it's still an option to stuff this with old clothing.
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| View of the front... |
For the final photo shoot below, one of these was filled with my
Mexican blanket. That brings up an idea that works well for travel: use these to carry
beach towels and picnic blankets on your road trip. You'll be able to use
them as cushions during pit stops, but when you get to your destination,
you can break out the towels and blankets.
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| Completed transformation... |
More likely, you'll find these handy for enjoying outdoor fun when traditional seating isn't available and you'd like to keep your pants dry and free from grass stains. ٩(^‿^)۶
'Til next...
What a great idea - we camp a lot, and my DH is always complaining about having to store the vinyl coated seat pads that we've had forever. We may be ready to ditch the vinyl, thanks to your idea and the number of tote bags that have arrived on my doorstep. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHurray! I love it when an idea is instantly helpful to a person who already has the required materials. Good luck with the project and happy camping!
DeleteThose are such pretty prints and you found a great way to give them new life as something even more useful. Nice!
ReplyDeleteI love the pretty totes you get. Can't say I receive anything so pretty to upcycle into cushions. Thanks for sharing and inspiring us.
ReplyDeleteIs this YOU? (And if you are YOU, you would know who I mean... LOL! Just that you're suddenly a "no reply-comment" person.) Anyway, you're welcome for the idea. And also, even if the source material is not pretty, it can still be functional. ;-)
DeleteThis is a great idea!! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteKathleen - kakingsbury at verizon dot net
Another idea I found was to repurpose into slings for use with elderly or disabled dogs. Remove the sides of the bag so you have the body and handles remaining.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing another way of repurposing these items. All it takes is a little thinking outside the box!
Delete