Harvey's knock off seatbelt purse tutorial

Inside: Knock off DIY seatbelt purse and bag

Yesterday, I gave you a little sneak peek at my Harvey's seatbelt bag knock off.

I am so giddy with excitement at how this project turned out and can't wait to share with you how you can easily make your own too!

Supplies for a Seatbelt Purse

To make these fun DIY seatbelt bags you will need:

I started with supplies from Country Brook Design.

You can get seatbelt webbing here.

I used two rolls of 2" black and silver.

You can also get the hardware for the O rings too.

I made a lining for the inside of the purse using fabric I had on hand.

You will need about half a yard.

Stop and Watch

I must confess that I attempted to make this purse several different ways, but ultimately,

after watching this video, I made it most similar to the way that a la mode makes their seatbelt bags.

Take a second to watch the video {it has catchy music} and the rest of the tutorial will make more sense.  

 If you are using two different colors of seatbelt,

start by taking one color and cutting 5 strips 29" long

Pin the ends together.

You will sew the ends of the seatbelts together making a loop.

These loops that are sewn will be your skeleton.

I attempted about five different ways to make this bag and in the end, 

I'm sharing with you the method that worked.

I spent about five hours taking apart the bag and putting it back together,

so I must apologize for not taking a picture of the start of this process.

The video above has a good picture to get you going.

If you notice in the following tutorial, I have the handles in place.

These are two 30" long pieces that I folded in half at the middle and sewed leaving the ends unsewn.

I started by attempting to use a pre-made bag that I got at the Dollar Store and weave the seatbelt around it.

That didn't work, but what remains of this prototype is the handles that I created.

How to Make a Seatbelt Purse

Scrap the idea that you see above, and subtract the handles, and we can get started!

Essentially, you begin by laying out your five loops and weaving 30" long strips through them,

alternating colors of seatbelt webbing if you are using two colors.

Pin the tops in place.

This is a picture of the bag with the front woven and the back ready for the long strips.

Below is a picture of the front of the bag as I started the weaving process.

Make sure that you hide the seams of your loops under your woven strips.

The strips on the front side are hanging down and are not folded over to the back yet.

Continue to weave the long strips and pin them in place at the top.

To make the side of the bag use the roll of seatbelt that you have and pull out a long strip.

My bottom strip is 40" long, though I would suggest just keeping your strip attached to your seatbelt roll and working from that.

Start by taking the end of your webbing and thread it through the side loops 

weaving in and out as you go.

Once you get to the bottom, 

turn 90 degrees and continue weaving with your webbing.

Make sure that your webbing is not getting twisted.

Below you will see the webbing for the bottom of the bag going over and under the strips, 

just below the final loop that you have in place.

Thread the piece up through the other side and cut it off at the top.

Pin it in place.

Now you are ready to turn the bag over and repeat this process on the backside of your bag.

After you are finished with weaving, 

you can start thinking about your long purse strap.

You can order O rings from Country Brook Design,

but I requested the wrong size and was scrambling to find something larger.

My solution was to hit the thrift store.

I picked up this purse for $1 with the intention of cutting it apart for its hardware.

I used two of the O rings from the thrift store purse and attached it to a long piece of webbing that I would use as my strap.

This size will be a personal measurement depending on how long you want your strap.

I pinned the ends in place over the O rings.

Stitch, back stitch and stitch again your O rings in place.

It's starting to look like a bag now, isn't it?!

Trim down the tops of your seatbelt webbing so they are all even with the top. I also took this time to weave in my handles, though you can wait until after since I realized they just got in the way.

I set the seatbelt purse aside and made the lining. I don't have measurements to share, I just sewed two pieces of fabric together that fit inside my purse and added a pocket. You then will turn your lining inside out and drop it inside your purse. Pin the lining in place.

This is where you really need a workhorse of a sewing machine. You are going to take one long strip of webbing and start by lining it up on the side of your bag. As you sew, you will fold the webbing down so that the top of your bag is encased in your seatbelt webbing. This means that your machine will be sewing through your lining, and three layers of seatbelt webbing. I'm not going to lie, I broke three sewing machine needles doing this. I learned that if you go super slow and remove your pins before you get to them,

you will have better luck.

I looked everywhere for rivets to attach my handles, but wasn't able to find any that were thick enough to go through three layers, so I hand sewed on the handles {after they were woven through the front and back webbing} and I attached the strap through the O rings to the sides, again, by hand sewing them in place.

I actually love the way it turned out and think that this knock-off Harvey bag could fool anyone.

A Few Tips 

A few tips that I learned while making this seatbelt bag don't try to get around sewing your own lining. It's not worth the time that it takes, just make your own.

Be patient and don't be afraid to take your bag apart a few times to get the hang of the process.

I know if I were to make another bag, this process would be so much faster the second time around.

Craft stores like Hobby Lobby sell magnetic closures for your bag. I have one that I haven't installed yet. I also made a zipper closure using one 29" loop like your skeleton base, but decided that I wanted to have my bag be open.

 
I'm thinking the one thing this seatbelt purse need is a matching wallet. What do you think?
PS. If you love making DIY bags, check out this reusable grocery bag tutorial. 
I want to thank Country Brook Design for supplying me with the seatbelt webbing and giving me the motivation to try making this bag that I've been saying I should make every time I see one in the store!

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Reusable grocery bag tutorial

In our state, plastic bags are slowly being outlawed.

Reusable grocery bags are the solution that our state sees to help solve the environmental problem that is plastic bags.

As a family of five, we can never have enough reusable grocery bags for the grocery store.

Today, I'm going to show you how you can make your own reusable grocery bags for your next grocery trip.

Or, if you have enough reusable bags already, you can never have enough gift sacks in your gift closet.

This bag has many uses!

I started with a few rolls of smart fab 

Smart fab is a smart alternative to paper and cloth. 

It's a non woven fabric that you can easily cut, fold, glue, sew and staple.

Best part, it doesn't fray and it's recyclable!

There are many uses for smart fab.

You can check out this site for more uses.

The smart fab fabric is really easy to cut, but of course, 

you can always use any cotton fabric that you have on hand too.

I made two bag sizes.  

The first I cut 2 pieces of the main body fabric 11x11

3 pieces {that will be your sides and bottom} 11x5

and 4 straps {you will double them up} at 21x2

The second {and larger} bag 

main body 15x15 {cut 2}

sides and bottom 15x8 {cut 3}

straps 24x2 {cut 4}

This tutorial will be for the smaller bag.

Just substitute any measurements if you are making the larger bag.

Because you want the straps to be strong, you will be cutting four straps and will be doubling the straps to increase their strength.

Place two straps on top of each other and serge them together.

If you do not have a serger, you can use a zig zag stitch.

To reinforce the straps even more, pin 5-6 inches in the center of your strap and sew them together at the opening.

Your straps will end up looking like this in the center.

Not one to leave things plain, 

I wanted to add polka dots to the plain fabric before I sewed them together.

I used a pouncer and dimensional fabric paint.

Dip your pouncer in your paint and carefully press them down on your fabric.

You really only need to paint your side, bottom and front and back pieces.

While you wait for those to dry, you can sew your plain bags together.

Take your sewn straps and pin one on each side of your large bag piece.

I eyeballed it, but if you are picky, you can use your ruler to measure how far apart your straps are.

I sewed the straps down on the bag in an "x" pattern.

This helps to strengthen your straps.

 At this point, you should have two pieces with your straps sewn down on top.

I like to serge the edges of the sides and bottom.

Again, you can zig zag stitch or leave it alone since this material doesn't fray.

Take your bottom piece and sew at the bottom of your two large pieces.

I like the seam on the outside so I stitch them wrong sides together if you can even distinguish which side the wrong side is!

The next part is a little trickier.

You will take one of your side pieces and starting at the top by the handle, start sewing down to the base.

Once you get to the base at the bottom, you will stop your needle, turn your fabric and sew the bottom shorter end of your side piece onto the base of your bag.

Once you sew the bottom and the side together, stop, turn your needle and your fabric again and sew up the other side from the bottom to the top.

Repeat this with the other side and you have your bag completed!

You can hold a lot of groceries in those bags!

 Or, you can use your bag as a gift bag.

I've got a lot of new reusable grocery sacks to use next time I head to the store.

That is, if I don't forget to bring them along!

How do you remember your reusable bags when you go to the grocery store?

I need a tip or two.

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