CANDY WRAPPER Woven Purse/Bag!

CANDY WRAPPER CRAFTS!
Woven Purse/Bag!

Perfect way to reuse bags of candy! Or the perfect way to justify eating more candy! (win/win)

Make an adorable Upcycled Statement with this woven purse!

Step 1: Supplies

Now, I've been hoarding candy wrapper bags for years.
Seriously, some of them were labeled as far back as 2006.

So, no judging.

I used 140 candy bags.

Seriously, each link was an entire bag of candy!

(You could use other types of trash too...or duct tape...anything that holds a crease!)

You will also need fishing line,

a firm plastic card (membership card type),

webbing straps for handles (or use cute patterned duct tape!)

and sewing machine.

Step 2: Make the Links!

I cut all my bags to the same measurement...4.5 by 9"
(this makes the squares just slightly larger than 1 inch each)

Fold in half the long way

Then fold the sides into the center...

Fold center

Fold each end into the center

Fold in half. It makes the perfect little links!
They slide right inside and hold themselves in place without glue, tape or any adhesive!

Repeat over and over!

I did 5 rows of 28 each.

(depends on how many candy wrappers you have and how big you want to make your bag!)

Step 3: Make Loops of Links!

Now loop one strip around and hook the last link to the first...
This is the hardest part...takes some finagling, but it's doable!

Slide them in to make the perfect loops!

This would be an adorable crown!

But I repeated it 5 times...looking cool so far!

Step 4: Sewing Links Together!

Now I took a store membership card and cut it to use as a "needle" for the hand sewing.

Then I taped a looped piece of fishing line right onto the card.

Just thread the string through the links to sew it together.
I wish I could tell you exactly how to do this part...but it was extremely tedious!

I looped the thread through and then looped it back through itself, making a lark's head knot.

Then back and forth through pieces to stitch each row to the next.

When I ran out of fishing line, I pulled off the needle and
carefully tied them off and got more line to sew more!

The bottom corner needed some tweaking to get it to lay right...but
that is the beauty of homemade crafts and candy wrappers!

My 6 year old took some pictures of me sitting on the floor stitching it together!
Over and over just making sure that each section was secured.

Done--almost!

Step 5: Finishing Touches!

The inside and the outside both look amazing!!!

Next I got 2 strips of webbing...

And just sewed them right to the candy wrappers with my sewing machine.

It's perfect!

Step 6: Show It Off!

I love the bright colors!
I love how it turned out...and I'll be honest, my most favorite...

were the Chocolate Truffle Kisses!

So, start hoarding candy wrapper bags!
Ask your friends to hoard bags too!

You can make your bag smaller, but mine is perfect for daily use!

Check out my blog Doodlecraft for daily awesomeness!

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