how to make a cross body purse from neckties

It's craft day. Long overdue. Something about making things with your own hands is so therapeutic and peppy. Today, I decided to make a small cross body purse out of a few old ties. I picked light colors for summer. This bag is super quick and easy. Here's how to make it.

First, gather four ties and a bit of fabric. Try to have two sets of two that are equally wide. I used the wider set for the front and back, and the narrower set for the sides/straps.

First, I closed the opening at the bottom inside edge of the ties by running a straight stitch along this little hill portion. This is not absolutely necessary, but gives the inside of the bag a cleaner construction.

Now, set your sewing machine on a wide and close zigzag stitch. Figure out how tall you want the body of your bag to be, and mark that far up from bottom corner edges on both sides of each tie. I used 7 and 1/2 inches. but together the edges of each tie and zigzag stitch together up to pins, insides all facing the same way. You will now have a flat portion with all four ties together. Carefully join the outside edges to make a cylinder shape.

Flatten down so that the strap edges are folded together like a taco and the front and back are on top of each other, wrong sides together. Straight stitch along bottom at the widest part so that the points of the ties hang free. Go over this with a close zigzag.

Choose which side to make flap. You could just cut off allowing room for flap to be folded over like a hem and stitched or you could add fabric to the flap edge. I sewed a bit of cute owl fabric over the edge, enclosing it to add strength and interest. Cut the non-flap side off so as to allow room to turn twice and hem leaving the hemmed edge flush with the seams up the sides.

Now if you want, you can sew a button and loop using whatever material you want. I used a strip of leather cut from an old jacket for my button loop.

Now all you have to do is join the long ends of the ties and trim. Figure out how long you want the bag to be, then pin straps together. I like to join on the diagonal and make two seams, going along the edge of both in a rhombus shape to add strength. I straight stitch, then zigzag over that. Okay, so maybe I do tend to over-engineer things a bit, but I want to make sure the bag is sturdy. Now you are done! Enjoy. PS I hope these instructions are clear. If you have any questions, message me and I'll clarify.