CasaLupoli: Sew a Recycled Denim Bottle Bag

My son likes to say, "I grow a little bit each day." Indeed. So, this past month, rather than donate five pair of his now too-short jeans to charity (as I usually do), I decided to upcycle them into various projects.

The first project on my list: Denim Bottle Bags. These denim bags are easily found on Etsy and Pinterest - and I always admire them. Because I've sewn bags before, I figured making some bottle bags could not be that difficult. With the kids back in school, and a basket full of the too-short boys' jeans, I decided the time had come to attempt making some of my own denim bottle bags.

Prepping Material:

Denim: After measuring a wine bottle, I learned that a finished bag should be about 13-inches long and about 7-inches wide. To account for the seams, I needed to prepare a piece of denim approximately 14.5" x 15". One jean leg per bag was perfect. This is a recycle / upcycle project, so of course some jeans had holes in the knees, and others had stains that just refused to come out in the wash (love that Georgia clay!). I went ahead and used the legs, imperfections and all. Remember, any denim works - no matter where it comes from.
Liner Fabric: I wanted a bag with a fold over reveal. So, the liner fabric needed to be a few inches longer than the outer fabric to account for the reveal. I cut fabric pieces at about 2 inches longer (14.5" x 17") than the denim. Most of the bag liners are remnants that I had in my fabric stash. Fully embracing the recycle portion of the project, I even cut a liner from an old pair of too-short girl's pajama pants - the dachshund pattern was so cute.
Handle Fabric: Fabric for handles was a bit trickier. I wanted the handles to match the liners. Because I was using remnants, I had a bit of trouble getting enough fabric in the right dimensions. I experimented with various lengths, and finally decided the best measurement was a strip of fabric about 3" x 18". You can avoid the issues I had by using fresh fabric or using other materials all together, such as rope, twine, etc.

One afternoon later, I have a nice collection of bottle bags suitable for various types and sizes of bottles and gifts. Th are perfect for wine bottles, shorter bottles, coffee cups, water bottles. And, of course, other non-bottle-type contents.

Various sizes suitable for various items.

If I may say so, they turned out super cute. Keep reading to see how I made them:

Denim Bottle Bags:
Materials:

Old denim jeans
Fabric for the liner and strap.
Tape measure and quilting ruler, pencil or pen
Scissors and/or rotary cutter
Ironing board and iron
Sewing machine, thread, pins

General How-To:

Step 1: Prep the Denim for outside of bag:

Cut off the leg at desired length.

Turn leg inside out and compare the seams.

Remove the inside seam.

Remove bottom hem.

Note: Jeans may vary in dimensions. Trim the denim to your specific desired width. Make sure the denim's outside hem is slightly off-centered - it is a great detail on the front of the finished bag.

Step 2: Prep the liner fabric:

Remove the selvage and trim fabric to desired size.

Note: Pay attention to the fabric's pattern orientation when you measure and cut. The fabric I used in this example has a leaf pattern with a distinct top and bottom. I cut the fabric so that, when the folded edge shows on the outside of the bag, the stems face up.