DIY BAGUETTE BAG recycle upcycle jeans tutorial

So what you're going to do first is grab some paper, a pencil, and draw a rectangle that is 10 inches by 6 inches. I just used a rough measurement from a baguette bag that I already had. Then on one side I sketched out the shape of a baguette bag. I then folded it in half and cut along the lines I had just made. This ensures the bag is symmetrical. Then I tidied up the edges. You should end up with something like this. Next you want to sketch a dip at the top of the bag. Then fold it in half again and cut it out. This is a simple sketch I made to try to explain these steps better. So again you draw your rectangle which is 10 inches by 6 inches. Then you sketch one side of the bag. Here I've sketched both sides to give an example of what it should look like when it's cut. So then you fold it over and cut out one of the sides to make it symmetrical. This is an example of what it would look like folded over. And then you cut where the green bit is, which means you should then have something that looks like this, where you would then sketch the dip at the top, fold it in half and cut it up following that green line. Then I stupidly realised I hadn't accounted for seam allowance so I glued my template onto another piece of paper and then cut around it, leaving about a centimetre or two around the perimeter and made sure it was symmetrical. Once I had done that I then folded the template in half and measured from the top corner all the way around the edge to the middle point of where I'd folded. This will give half of the measurement needed for the strip of fabric that will be used underneath the bag. For me this was about 12 inches. Then on another piece of paper I drew another rectangle, this time 12 inches by 3 inches. The 12 inches is going to be the length of the underside of the bag and the 3 inches is going to be the width of the bag. You can change this depending on how wide you want your bag to be, I chose 3 inches. I then measured from the bottom corner to the centre of the fold. This should normally be about half of the previous measurement, so this was about 6 inches for me. This bit is slightly more difficult to explain, so I then marked the halfway point of the longest rectangle, which was 6 inches for me, and drew a line straight up, which would be a 3 inch line because that's the width. Then at one end of the rectangle I measured out a 1 inch gap, which is usually the width of a normal zip. I then connected the lines from the halfway point going in towards the 1 inch line at the top. Then I cut around leaving about a centimetre or two seam allowance around the edge. This is now your template for half of the bottom of the bag, if that makes sense. So two of these put together would make the bottom of the whole of the bag. I've always wanted a denim bag so I decided to make my baguette bag out of a pair of my dad's old jeans. So I put my bag's template on and cut off the part of the jean that I needed. Then I flipped the denim inside out and drew around my template twice. This makes both sides of the bag. Then I cut out the two halves of the bag and I also made sure that they were exactly the same size. Then I took some more of the denim fabric and cut out two of the longer templates for the bottom of the bag. I then drew around it twice and then cut them both out. I also decided to make some lining for the inside of my denim bag to make it thicker and I made the lining, however I couldn't figure out how to fit it inside the denim bag and I think I did it in the wrong order so I ended up not using the lining at all. But as this was the first bag I'd ever made I wasn't too mad and I'll just try and do it in the next bag that I make. So all of the lighter blue more cotton looking fabric was supposed to be the lining of the bag but I ended up not using it in the end, however I would recommend using it if you can figure out how to sew it in. Any help would be greatly appreciated. These are just clips of me making the lining which I thought would be interesting to leave in even though I ended up not using them because they might be helpful for some people. Right now for the sewing part. I then pinned the thicker side so the three inch sides of the bottom pieces together. I'm pretty sure it's called right sides together so I think that's what I did and then I sewed along the line where I pinned it. Then I cut out two small squares of denim fabric and pinned them to the zip. I believe the zip I used was about 20 centimetres long and about an inch wide. I then sewed along the line where I'd pinned it. This bit was a bit confusing but I think the video is clearer than me explaining it. Once I'd sewn the two pieces of fabric to the zip I then took one of the denim cutouts and faced it the right way up so that the denim was facing me. Then I put the zip upside down on top of the denim and pinned it so that when I sew along that it will flip the right way up, if that makes sense. I then sewed along the zip and repeated the process the other side. This is what it should look like. Then I turned the bag inside out slash upside down and I pinned the bottom of the bag to one of the sides, again right sides together, and then I sewed all the way around the edge of the bag. I then repeated the process on the other side and made sure that between the end of the zip and the fabric there was a small gap for the handle to fit through. I made the strap using the hem of my dad's jeans which meant that it was quite strong but also about the right length that I wanted. I just kind of threw the strap over my shoulder and kept adding or taking away to the fabric to find the length that I wanted. Then with the bag inside out still I put the strap inside the bag and pulled each end through each hole in the side of the bag that was left by the zip. I made sure that the strap was facing the right way and that it was straight. I pulled the strap out a small amount each side and then sewed across the gap to close it and also secure the strap in place. I then cut off any excess and tidied up the edges. This is what the corner should look like. The denim on the inside of the bag was fraying a little bit so maybe next time I make this bag I'll try and hem the edges. And this is the finished product. I can't believe I just made a bag!