I saw this Japanese coin purse tutorial on Pinterest and instantly fell in love with it. I haven't seen a purse like this in a long time, and it suddenly made me go "I want!" But I don't have any snap buttons. Or an awl. Or a sewing machine. Or needle and thread for that matter. *sigh*
But then I remembered this no-sew tote bag made of fabric and duct tape, and I knew not all hope was lost. I could make it after all. Sorta. I think.
So I made one. Just today!
Here's what I did.
Materials and Tools:
.old, no-longer-used, toddler girls' shorts.
.scissors.
.fine-tipped marker (non-permanent -- though I doubt that's relevant).
.purse pattern, printed on paper and cut out (downloaded here).
.iron.
.duct tape.
.magnet.
Steps:
1. I cut the shorts so it became a single, long piece of fabric (removing the elastic made it much easier to work with)![]() |
the shorts before cutting -- soooo '90's! |
While cutting up the shorts, I noticed the cut part got really frayed, and I knew that I'd have to fold the fabric down or else the frayed ends will get worse quickly.
2. I then traced the pattern over the fabric with the marker
3. Then I cut off excess fabric
![]() |
you can barely see, but here are the marks and cuts |
I took the cue from the original tutorial on how she cut around her sewing and made the same cuts on my single piece of fabric. It helped big time when I got to the ironing.
4. Next, I pressed the material with an iron
Random note: I don't use irons. I haven't bought an iron in years. Somehow my mother-in-law's old iron found its way into our stuff when we moved.
![]() |
never mind the right side's curvyness |
5. Afterward, I taped the folds down, starting with the edges, then covering the rest of the face
![]() |
i just realized the right side is still off -- jeez -- |
![]() |
the outside of the purse |
6. I cut up small, thin strips of duct tape and taped the corners from the inside. Then I folded everything down according to how the purse is constructed.
![]() |
sorry it's dark |
Like I said, I didn't have a snap button. I had other things I could've replaced the snap button with (spare 4-hole buttons, random strips of velcro), but also again, I had no needle and thread. So after walking around the apartment for a minute, I saw magnets on the fridge. A lightbulb went on, and I grabbed this one:
![]() |
courtesy of Campaign Abercrombie |
![]() |
the goal: to remove the magnet from the clip |
7. Jobi and I hammered the smack out of the clip until it broke into pieces ... and we could remove the magnet
Sorry, Neil... but we didn't vote for you anyway.
And with a stroke of luck, I found that the magnet was actually a small canister with TWO magnets!
![]() |
halle-freakin-lujah!! |
8. I taped the magnets in place
![]() |
first with a tiny piece of tape |
![]() |
then with a strip of tape over (i tested the magnets' strength through tape beforehand) |
![]() |
the bottom strip was longer and wrapped around to look ... stylish?? |
Aaaaaaand.......... ta-dah!!!
![]() |
a-a-a diva is a female version of a husslah! |
![]() |
never mind all the sides and corners that are still frayed |
![]() |
the folds didn't stay folded very well either |
9. I decided to put it under a heavy object to hold everything together
![]() |
I'll leave it overnight |
Lessons Learned:
.if you're cutting up old clothes, avoid putting curved seams within pattern. curved seams suck.
.mark on the wrong side of the fabric so you don't see it.
.if you use right-handed scissors to cut duct tape, it's easier for the scissors (and less messy) if you cut the tape with the adhesive side facing you. careful, though; it's kinda awkward, too.
.duct tape doesn't fold very well.
And that's it. I can't believe I just made this today. I'm glad I had all these materials and scraps to test out. When I make this purse again (because I w.i.l.l. make this again!), I will most likely stay a lot closer to the original tutorial than my version. The original version is not too hard if you have any sewing skill at all, and I think everything will fold and stick much more smoothly that way.
Although I do like having magnets to snap the purse shut with. :-D
nice! good job! way to keep busy. I feel like we've been gone FOREVER, but we will be back tomorrow (Sunday). So we'll see you soon!
ReplyDeletep.s. thanks for using my sticker :)
Yay, you guys are back! I've been instructed to stay off my feet, but we'll visit when we can! I totally love your sticker on my laptop, although I think I coulda put it in a better location. But I have a decal idea I saw on etsy that you may like. I'll tell you about it later.
Deleteahahahahahahahhahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete