Introduction: DIY Recycled Clutch Purse

About: Hey, I'm Muhaimina! A Craftaholic person (or Witch if you may say!). Obsessed with swirls and polka dots... and Instructables is pretty much my second home! Follow my IG Blog https://www.instagram.com/the_craf…

Turning trash into treasure is the best thing makers do! Green crafts, recycling, reuse have always inspired me.

I had a few vhs video cases of my favorite cartoons and movies from my childhood. Who knew one day I was going to make a clutch purse out of one of'em! I'm probably going to turn all of those cases into clutch purse now! but of course I didn't throw away the case covers, I'm definitely going to frame them or make maybe ask my demon (husband) to make something awesome with all those covers, he's a recycling addict!

But for now, check out my ible and find out how I made this clutch bag out of vhs video case.

Step 1: Materials Needed

To make this recycled clutch purse you'll need:

  1. Old vhs video case
  2. Felt and fabric
  3. Scissors
  4. Hot glue gun
  5. Ruler and pencil
  6. Golden spray paint (optional)
  7. Awl and craft wire
  8. Old hair band and round bead (optional)
  9. Old purse chain handle

Step 2: Preparing the Case

I've seen 2 types of vhs video cases- cardstock paper cases and plastic cases. For this project we'll need the plastic ones. The plastic case would be great for making purse because it already has a lock system.

Anyways, lets get started! Take out the case cover and clean the plastic cover.

Step 3: Preparing the Inner Layer

Open the case and measure the entire inner surface (front + spine + back). Cut out a felt according to the measurement. Mark the width of the spine on the felt.

Measure the width of the case (which will be the height of the clutch). It's usually about 4.5 inches. Place another felt beside the spine marked area of the main felt. Mark the new felt as shown in the 3rd picture collage of this step- Mark the spine size by keeping a cm extra on both sides and the case width.

Similarly cut another piece. Have a look at the last picture of this step to see the 3 parts of the inner layer.

Step 4: Attaching the Inner Layer

Use hot glue to attach all 3 parts of the inner layer. Be careful and steady during this step.

Simply glue the sides starting from any one side (not middle).

Once you're done attaching the inner layer parts prepare to glue it inside the plastic case.

Again, start from one side and apply glue on the case rather than the felt. Glue around the sides and spine, you don;t need to glue the entire case.

Done gluing? Check if you can open and close the clutch nicely.

Step 5: Attaching the Main Fabric

I'm using this sparkly fabric as the main fabric for the purse.

Carefully glue the fabric and cover the entire outer surface of the plastic case as neatly as possible.

To be honest, I wasn't quite satisfied because I couldn't glue the fabric smoothly, it's probably because of the fabric. I would suggest to use plain and thick fabric for covering the case.

Step 6: Attaching the Handle

This was fun and easy!

You'll need some craft wire, an awl and an old clutch chain handle.

Use the awl to make a hole on the side of the case. Take a small piece of craft wire and make a small loop with it by keeping even amount of wire on both sides. Twist the remaining wire. Insert the twisted part into the hole by keeping the loop outside. Bend the twisted part inside and use hot glue to secure it with the case inside. Similarly attach another looped wire on the other side of the case.

Now you can easily attach the clutch chain handle with the case.

Though the vhs video case already has a lock system but I attached a button and button loop (from old hair band) anyways. Done!

This clutch turned out pretty nice, I can't wait to try out more.

Thanks for checking out my ible!

Happy crafting!

Trash to Treasure Contest 2017

Participated in the
Trash to Treasure Contest 2017

Bag Contest

Participated in the
Bag Contest