Knitting and Beyond

Making a Tote Out of Kids Clothes

Here is a great project that will make for a very creative gift'a homemade bag out of an old pair of jeans. First you are going to need those old pair of jean'the ones that no longer fit anymore or perhaps the ones that have that hole in the knee. You want to make sure that you zip up and button the pair of jeans before you begin. Put the jeans inside out and sew the leg holes together at the crotch. You can either do this with a sewing machine or you can hand sew it with thread or even decorative and colorful yarn.

After you are done sewing cut off the legs of the jean and turn the pant back right-side out. You can then put a decorative and colorful belt in the belt hoops and then you have a little bit of a handle for your tote. If you would rather you can even create a strap for the tote using the material from the legs that you cut off. And you can also take out the zipper and sew it closed. You can then decorate the bag with buttons, rhinestones or fabric gels to make it more interesting. A child can have a lot of fun doing this part.

Making things out of old kids clothes is a great way to teach children never to waste anything and it can be a lot of fun for both you and your children. This tote can have many practical purposes too. This can be a great tote for groceries, which is a great way to help the environment eliminating the use for plastics and paper bags. Or perhaps your child can use this tote for that overnight bag to a friend's house. You can also personalize it and give it to your teacher making it a great holiday or end of the year present from your child to their teacher.

This is a great project to spend quality time with you children and make use of all those beautiful