Plan C

I don't usually look at the handbag section at the thrift shop, because it's just too depressing. However, walking past it the other day, something caught my eye.




Look hard, past the polyester macrame cord and the grime. Do you see the potential? $3, made in Italy, I'm a sucker for anything European.


As soon as I got it home, I pulled out that ugly cord and cut out the dirty lining, giving it a quick measure before throwing it away. I then washed my hands with hot water for about five minutes! I shined up the hardware as much as I could, and finally got down to the fun part: picking a fabric to line it with. I decided to use the fabric from an old summer skirt.




I cut the lining based on the measurements of the old lining, sewed it up with simple boxed corners, and whip stitched it to the canvas band around the top of the bag.

At this point I thought it needed some trim along the top, just to finish it off and hide my stitching. I pulled out all my white trims and decided on a small daisy trim, which I just hot glued around the top of the bag. Next I added some white cord as handles...and hated it. It looked too improvised and flimy and it was already getting dirty.

Okay, Plan B. Can I buy a different cord? I looked online a little, but I didn't get too far. I figured I'd need some sort of home dec trim, and my hopes of finding something in the right color, material, and thickness seemed slim. So, Plan C?