Upcycled Purse From A Ruined (shrunken/felted) Sweater

  I've discovered the thrill of making something WONDERFUL from a mistake! I washed a sweater a while back that I could have sworn said it was machine washable only to find out it was dry clean only. Before I tossed it in the Goodwill bag, I checked the Internet and found several ideas for turning felted/fulled (shrunken) wool sweaters into other items. 

  I didn't use a pattern, and in fact this is the result of me trying to "improve" on the bag I had made at first.......I really messed it up, and had to cut it apart, and start over. I'm really happy with the result, and more importantly so is my daughter!

  I went on to make a second purse from another sweater that I purposely felted (shrunk). Since I don't have (and I'd bet neither do you) any two sweaters that are alike, no two of these purses will ever be alike......that's kind of fun don't you think?
  

Step 1: Step 1 Gather your supplies

First and foremost you need a wool sweater that you have "felted" (fulled or SHRUNK). Earlier I provided VERY simple INSTRUCTABLE on how to do this......just in case you haven't already done it by ACCIDENTLY washing, and drying a wool sweater.

OK, so now you have your sweater. You also need:
scissors
needle
matching thread
ruler or tape measure
straight pins
purse handles (either new from the craft store, or handles from an old purse. You could also use a reclaimed belt

OPTIONAL SUPPLIES
sewing machine, and/or serger
Fray Check or other product that locks thread

Comments

[Linda Lanese]

Hi Mary,

I posted your purse on Craft Gossip Felting and hope you stop by and leave a comment, lovely work :)
http://felting.craftgossip.com/2012/04/18/up-cycled-purse-from-a-ruined-shrunkenfelted-sweater/

Linda Lanese

[MaryT8M]

Thank you SO much for the kind words Linda. This is a first for me for sure! I Love, love, love working with wool, and fabric, and wood, and beads, and buttons......oh you get the idea! LOL

Thanks again.
Mary

[mygibzone]

Very fun, and easy idea! I'm not a purse person, but I think they would make great gifts! I'm glad you retired so now you can share all these awesome things with us! :)

[MaryT8M]

Thanks for the compliment! I HOPE I can stay "retired", so I can continue as well!

[sunshiine]

So cute! Thanks for sharing and please have a terrific day!
Sunshiine

[MaryT8M]

Thanks I DID have a reaaly fun day......everyone was gone, so I had a whole day to myself, and my crafting........I made a batch of soap as well! Look for yet another INSTRUCTABLE on that!

[sunshiine]

Sounds like fun! I love soap!

[scoochmaroo]

This is really cute, and a what a great tutorial!

[MaryT8M]

THANK YOU I had a lot of fun doing it. I LOVE this site!

[Penolopy Bulnick]

I love this! I like that sweater design you used; so adorable!

[MaryT8M]

Thank you so much. I found this sweater at a local Goodwill for $3.89.......can't beat that price. I think Wool sweaters are getting harder to find :-( It's fun to try to look at a sweater, and try to think about how it will look when felted, and how it will work with other sweaters, or fabrics.

Next I plan on making a pillow!