Easy Gym Bag And Coin Purse

Those in the crafting business will love this post; however I believe the rest of us could use this information to help teach our children and grandchildren a little bit about sewing and crafting.  These quick and easy projects could easily be done by middle school age children, AND give them something they would be proud to use!

EASY GYM BAG

Materials Needed:

Outgrown jeans or pants and thread to match

Outgrown jeans make wonderful gym bags, just as they make wonderful Jean Purses!!

Cut the legs off the jeans at the crotch line.  Open the legs at the inside seam and cut one half of the bag from each leg, making the length of the bag a length of your choice.  The side seam of the jeans will be the middle of the front and back of the gym bag.

With right sides together sew up the sides and bottom.  Turn the top edge down an inch and stitch in place.  Run cording through the top where you turned the edge down to make a handle.

Iron on appliques can be added for extra decoration.  And as mentioned previously, the upper part of the utgrown jeans can be made into jean purses.

QUICK COIN PURSE - to use inside the gym bag!



Materials Needed:
1 10 x 12 or 9 x 12 piece of felt (your choice of color)
Felt scraps for trim
Co-ordinatinating color of yarn
1 snap



Cut a pattern for the coin purse 8" high and 4" wide.  Divide the lower two sections into 3" segments, leaving the top 2" for the flap.  Draw in the circular "top" of the flap.  Fold the lower third up to make the pocket.  Stitch around both sides with the yarn, then hand stitch around the top of the flap using the same yarn.  Fold the top flap down, then sew a snap closure on it.

If you'd like, you could braid several pieces of the yarn into a 12"-16" length -- stitch it to one side of the coin purse, and stitch the other end to the inside of the gym bag, so it will be handy to use whenever you use the gym bag.