Messenger bag from cargo pants - another clothes upcycle

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Continuing with my Clothes Upcycling Challenge for 2015 I made a messenger bag from a pair of cargo shorts and some other fabric from my stash (helping my stashbusing cause at the same time!)

I've wanted to try this tutorial from Noodlehead for a while so decided this was the perfect opportunity.

This is what I started with:

Since the pattern uses a pair of cargo pants not shorts, I had to alter it slightly so I had enough fabric. The strap I made entirely from the co-ordinating fabric rather than half and half, but I think it works ok. I also had to unpick a pocket and make the whole bag slightly smaller than the pattern to give me enough fabric.

The pattern itself was fairly easy to follow although perhaps a little less detailed than I'm used to. I tend to go for overkill and photo and describe even the smallest stage in my tutorials as that's how I work. Still - this is overall a straightforward bag to make and a great way to upcycle a pair of pants!

The strap was possibly a little bit long for my daughter. Generally my girls love to model things I've made for me, but not on this day! However, I did manage to cajole my youngest into a couple of shots!

Left over fabric from the shorts?  A few pockets, a zip, buttons, label and the waistband. I've added them to the bag from last week's upcycle to be used in some future project I haven't yet thought of!

I'm pretty happy with this week's upcycle.  Do come back next week to see what I make next!

For over 600 ideas for clothes upcycling, check out the ongoing linky here. Please do add your own ideas too!

If you are interested in upcycling, I also share lots of upcycling ideas, for clothes and lots of other things too, on my Facebook page.

Jill