Monday, February 13, 2017

Old skirts and buttons

What did I make out of this????

 


It's an old (but never worn) country western skirt that I bought years ago for country western dancing, which I DID used to do! I loved dancing so much.... it was my passion for many years..... but haven't tapped a boot skootin' boogie for a good 15 years. Anyway.,. this skirt somehow shrank over the years.... hum.m.m.m just sitting on my fabric shelf? That's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it! Just loved this fabric and knew someday I'd remake this into something fun.  It had a matching vest too... darn.. wish I wouldn't have gotten rid of it!

I got the inspiration to do something with this heavyish fabric of the skirt after I saw a blog post from my special blog friend Connie, at Crafty Home Cottage when she repurposed and recycled some old jeans into aprons and a darling travel banner. I went to Pinterest to look at all the recycled jeans projects... of course there are hundreds upon  hundreds...... and in all the looking, I decided I needed to make myself a nice big bag to carry "stuff" in, like books to the library, my boots when I travel, my yarn when I have a project going or to hold a quilt project. All of my other craft bags are full.

So here's what I made....



See here? it has the pockets, snap and zipper intact...and I used the belt loops to run ties through that I made from some other old (but new) southwestern fabric! I love it!




It's stuffed full of yarn.. and still more room in it!

All I did was sew up the bottom and sew the side slits... since it was a short skirt, I only cut off the little inch hem that was on it.. and I used that to make a few more belt loops to run the ties through. Super easy. I love the pockets on the outside.. I may put some velcro on them to hold them closed so I can put little odds and ends in them if I need to.  Hum.m.m.m. I see another western skirt (that has shrunk also) peeking out of my fabric stash............

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

I was looking for a little box for hubby to send a small gift to a friend.. and found the box but there was something inside. I had totally forgotten about all the little vintage buttons and cards that I had tucked in there! They were a gift from a friend a couple of years ago. I'm glad I found them. The cards are so neat.. and the prices on most are 25 cents or 29 cents. Hum... wonder what year that would take us back to? Anyone know? 






These shimmery blue ones are my favorites.


They are all still attached to the button cards... never used. Wow. Thank you Susie for these beautiful buttons!

Hope everyone had a fun weekend. Our snow is almost all melted! Yahoo!.... and we've had a few sunny days, though still chilly. Not ready for yardwork yet, but this sunshine makes me want to take a little road trip. How about you?


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15 comments:

  1. Well, if the cards were 25 cents, I'm thinking maybe the 70's? Just a guess though.

    So I think we have to get you up on the dance floor again Marilyn!

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    1. Yup would love to dance again! Just need to get my foot back on track! I thought the 70's for the buttons too, or maybe a little older than that. Take care! Marilyn

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  2. Marilyn, so glad you kept that skirt and found your long lost buttons. All so pretty and what a great idea for the bag. Looks like you can get a lot into there..Too cute..Happy Valentine's Day, Judy

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    1. Yes I do love the size of this bag! Great for all of my yarn in one place! I already used it to carry my boots to work when we had so much snow.. worked great.

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  3. Wow! You were busy over the weekend! I LOVE your darling bag! See, it is good to hang onto things, you just never know when you will find a way to repurpose them! I've never made a tote out of a skirt or jeans, but now I'm going to look into it more! Love how easy it was to make the bag. Did you line it? And those buttons, very very nice! I would say they are 60s or 70s. What a great find :) Hugs to you today!

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    1. Hi Marilyn.... thank you.. I love it too. I had never made one with jeans or a skirt like this and it's so easy. I didn't line it as is a pretty heavy fabric. It wouldn't be hard to line either.. I've watched enough videos so I think I could figure it out. Hugs back! Marilyn

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  4. Love that wonderful fabric and the bag you made is gorgeous! Such a great idea to re purpose the skirt and now enjoy that lovely print in a different way.
    Helen xox

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    1. Thank you Helen. As are many others, I'm trying to look at my stash in different ways as to how I can use it! All my country western fabrics that were meant for blouses and shirts for me many years ago, now need to be turned into something else!
      Happy Thursday.... Marilyn

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  5. Thank you Marilyn. I certainly value your friendship also and enjoy each and every visit we have together..Hope your week is going well..xxoJudy

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    1. The same goes for me too. Sorry I took so long to respond to your comment! Life sure gets in the way doesn't it? Take care... Marilyn

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  6. Dear Sweet Marilyn, I love that you re-purposed that skirt, the fabric is wonderful and you created a great bag. I have a love for cowboy and cowgirl everything :) Great button find, too!
    Have a lovely weekend.
    Connie :)

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    1. I love all cowboy and cowgirl things too! Have had horses almost all my life but funny that I don't have that many pictures or horse themes in my house.. just alot of fabric! I need to use it for "something"! Thank you for the good wishes. xoxo Marilyn

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  7. Loved it as a skirt and as a bag! Many in our vintage trailer rally groups have the cow boy theme and they're gorgeous. Use old furs for couch slipcovers...I'll be sending you a email listing some vintage trailer links..but also a lot of people score their trailer off craigslist and eBay local.

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