Fabric Lined Duct Tape Purse

Duct Tape Purse

I'm a relative novice when it comes to making things out of duct tape. This is only my third project. My first project with duct tape was to make a water bottle holder and my second was to make some covered boxes. I watched a tutorial video on how to make a fabric lined duct tape purse on the Second Hand Chances blog and thought it looked like something I could do.  


Cut a piece of fabric the size that you want your purse to be. Find a purse or a box to measure and make the fabric the width of the front plus one of the sides, and then make the fabric twice as long as you'd like the bag to be long.  My fabric ended up being 12 inches by 23 inches.  I knew I wanted to make a wider bag than the one in the video, so I planned accordingly with the width.


Next find the middle of the fabric and place a piece of duct tape straight across. I marked the middle on both sides of the fabric so that it stayed straight. Then once that center tape is applied, measure 1 1/2 inches from the edge of the tape and mark again. I marked every 1 1/2 inches along the edge of the fabric. Duck brand duct tape is 1 7/8 inches wide, so 1 1/2 inches allows for a nice overlap.


I alternated white and purple tape from the center up to the top. Then when you get close, fold the fabric edge over and tape it down.


Then repeat the process on the other half. It's okay if your tape is a bit short (as you can see with two pieces below) because you'll be taping along the edge to create the sides; however, it's easier to place the tape straight if it's longer than your fabric is wide.


When your stripes are complete, then you can trim the edges of the fabric so that the the edge is straight.  I like to use a rotary tool because the tape sticks to it less, but a scissor would work fine too.
  

Once your stripes are trimmed, fold it in half and tape the sides to create an envelope.


Then create the bottom and sides of the purse by tucking the corners in and creating a square bottom.


On the inside of your purse you'll have little triangles tucked in on the inside.


Next, create some cardboard stays to make the bottom and sides of your purse stiff. I used a cereal box and made a rectangle that was 8 x 3 1/2 inches and side pieces that were 7 x 3 1/2 inches.


Then tape over the cardboard leaving an edge of tape to stick to the fabric. It was kind of tricky to get the tape to stick down. If I make a purse like this again, I'll probably make the cardboard just a bit narrower so I could leave more tape hanging over the edge.


Then it's time to create the handles.  I ripped one inch strips of fabric off of my remaining purple fabric stash and the handles ended up being about 18 inches long.  They could be a bit shorter and still work.  Place one piece of duct tape the same length as your handles sticky side up and then place your fabric in the center.


Then carefully fold the edge of the tape over the fabric and create your handle straps.


Once your straps are completed, tape them to the inside of your purse equal distance apart with a little strip of tape.  After your handles are all taped in, then use a strip of tape to go all along the top of the bag to cover over everything.


And then you're done with your purse.  Because my bag ended up having such wide sides (like I wanted), I ended up creasing them (just like on a gift bag) so that the bag would stand up better.


To add a little decoration to the front of the purse I wanted to make a flower.  I ended up using a tutorial from Skip to My Lou.


I cut three pieces of tape about 14 inches long and a circle the width of one piece of tape.


Then I folded the strips almost in half but left a lip of sticky side showing.


Then I fringe cut all of my strips. I cut the first two strips at about 1/4 of an inch and the last one at 1/8th of an inch for the center of the flower.


Take your circle sticky side up and apply the fringe around the outside of the circle, bending and sticking it as you go.


Apply the second piece of tape in the same way. Working your way towards the center of the circle.


Do the same with the last piece of tape (cut with the smaller fringe).  When you get to the very center with only a little circle of tape left, roll the rest of your fringe up (as seen above) and smoosh the sticky part of the tape down into the center.

Duct Tape Flower

And voila a purple mum! Fluff the tape up a bit and you're good to go.  I rolled a piece of duct tape onto the back of the flower and stuck it right onto my bag. So far it seems to be sticking very securely, but if you're worried about durability you might want to use a hot glue gun or some other method to attach it.


I think it turned out great for my first attempt at a duct tape purse and I can't wait to try out more ideas.

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