Curse you, zipper! An upcycled purse with an unsightly zipper

The more I sew, the more I realize that I may have missed a few things when my mom was teaching me the basics. It wasn't her fault -- I was an impatient, snotty little kid who refused to admit my mistakes and burst out in tears when she told me to rip out my seams.

So I'm not surprised that a simple zipper could be my undoing.


A few weeks ago I stopped by one of my favorite thrift stores and came upon these cool kids jeans, covered with Mickey Mouse faces. Smiling Mickey, silly Mickey, and -- my favorite -- slightly aghast Mickey. I didn't know what I would do with the fabric, but I had to have it.

On the same shopping trip, I found this pattern. I hoped all the pieces were there.

It wasn't until a few days later that I put the two together -- I could make a purse out of the Mickey Mouse fabric! I figured I would have enough for a small purse, if I didn't mind a seam running down the middle. After ripping out the inseams, I had two pieces of flat fabric.

 For the strap, I grabbed an old leather belt from my stash.

To hold the strap, I found a pair of flashy rhinestone-studded belt loops from a pair of brown jeans.

I worked slowly, trying to keep my seams straight and the details polished. I thought I was on my way to an almost perfect bag...

...until I reached the ZIPPER! At first glance, it looks pretty good.

But from the inside, it's a mess. I followed the pattern instructions exactly. At least I think I did. Instead of hiding the zipper tape between the outside and inner lining, the pattern told me to sew the zipper on top of the lining, with the edge showing. Uggg-ly!

And the zipper ends droop out the sides of the bag. Unpolished for sure.

Until I got to the zipper, I was thinking I could sell the bag in my Etsy shop. But now, the bag is all mine. And I'll be looking for a "Zippers for Dummies" class.