Many moons ago, Judith Hollis designed a delightful little denim pouch for us, and it quickly became one of our most loved and popular classes. When Judith retired from the world of sewing, I knew this much-missed project deserved a new life - but only if it was reimagined with the same care, creativity, and charm. So who better to ask than the super-talented Gary Mills - trained tailor, thoughtful designer, and passionate advocate for sustainable fabrics. When Gary sent over a photo of his newly imagined version of the Upcycled Denim Pouch Bag, I was completely smitten… and immediately asked if I could buy one. His answer? “No - join the online class and make one with me!!!”

 

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn from Gary as he guides you through creating your own beautifully Upcycled Denim Pouch Bag - practical, stylish, and full of thoughtful details. We’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing this class to you, and we think you’re going to love it just as much as we do! Over to Gary to tell you more…

 

Introduction by Gary:-

Hi, I'm Gary Mills and I'm delighted to be introducing this very trendy and useful Denim Pouch Bag, which has been inspired by and uses a repurposed upcycled pair of denim jeans. In this cleverly constructed bag, I've incorporated recognisable garment details such as the belt loops, part of a pocket, the zip fly guard, the original outer and internal stitching details, which add a quirky twist to the bag’s design.

 

There is no need to buy different weights and shades of denim, as I will show you how to contrast the fabrics by selecting worn areas, frayed areas and even the reverse of the fabric to add interesting details to the finished outcome.

 

The best thing about this project is that the outcome is functional, useful for storing and carrying bits and bobs of your choice. It could be your next make-up bag, or is it a pencil bag for a teenager, maybe for keeping hankies in or jewellery; it could even keep together your current sewing project to take wherever you go. Once you’ve learnt the construction process and the sewing considerations, there is no reason that varying zippy pouch sizes and further bag applications could not be made for future creative ideas.

 

What You Will Learn in this Online Interactive Workshop:-

This three-hour workshop is divided into two halves with a short comfort break for 10 minutes in the middle.

To begin you will be introduced to the project, and then I will guide you through each of the assembly and skills processes:-

• You will learn how to select interesting areas of denim garment details from your recycled jeans, to use in your bag design. These will require different sewing considerations and approaches depending on the type of detail, thickness, weight of fabric, and where to place them on the final pouch bag.

• You will be shown the decorative “quilt as you go” method of assembly, along with top stitching and discussion on hand sewing applications that could be considered for future designs.

• You will be shown how to insert the metal teeth heavy duty jean zip, with a professional looking finish;

• Along with an integral lining to add a beautiful finish to your bag.​

 

Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:- 

I have many years of experience as a professional practitioner and teacher of textiles; my workshops are so enjoyable, fun and very well organised and I always offer my CraftyMonkies students clear and patient guidance. This workshop is suitable for all; if you are a beginner this is a great project to learn and understand the processes of assembly and a quilting technique using different weight fabrics. For those more experienced and advanced you can further hone your design and aesthetic skills by working on improved accuracy and develop your artistic ability to achieve a first-class professional finish. 

 

Fabric requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

You will need:-

• Some used / recycled denim fabric and associated garment details. Don’t Use Stretch Denim!!! This may be a pair of jeans (only part of one leg is used for this bag…. so plenty to make an additional set of bags!) or you may have a denim skirt to deconstruct. In any case the older, the more worn and faded the better!

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NOTE: If you haven’t got anything which you wish to cut up, charity and thrift shops are idea to find a suitable used denim bargain.

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You will require some thin Bump Curtain / Quilting Wadding to build your design upon. Measuring 2 x 11” x 7”. I've used a thin synthetic wadding, but you could also use a thin polyester / wool blanket. You don’t want anything too thick or fluffy or bulky as you will be directly stitching onto this wadding with no backing.

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For the lining, I've used a printed cotton 2 x 10” x 6” (a bright bold design looks good)

• Good quality Sew-all polyester thread (Note: cotton thread isn’t as strong and can break under heavy duty pressure) Colours are entirely up to you. I've used a general Guterman 100% Polyester mustard colour tread. But you can use a matching colour to the denim or a light grey as you build your stitch confidence and accuracy.

• IMPORTANT: You need a Metal Teeth CLOSED END jean zip exactly 8” (colour is your choice - it could be a feature to have a bright red zip on a blue denim bag!)

• To create the neat zip finishes either end of the insertion you need: 2 x 4”x 1 ½” any plain cotton fabric of your choice - it could be a “pop of bright colour” detail, or you can play safe with a blue to match the denim

 

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Other optional considerations:-

Some 6” thin leather thong or ribbon for the zip pull. Additional metal or function style button or two.

 

Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• REALLY IMPORTANT: You will require strong Denim Jean machine needles - the assorted size pack is ideal Size 90 - 120

• A Sewing Machine

• An Iron for pressing

• A sharp (fresh blade) Rotary Cutter

• Quilting Ruler

• Cutting Mat

• A Stitch Un-Picker for removing labels and details to use in your pouch design

• Small sharp Embroidery Scissors and Fabric Scissors

• Pins or plastic quilt binding clips are useful

• A Soluble Fabric Marker Pen or Chalk is useful

• Something blunt like a Chopstick to push out corners!

 

Additional Information relevant to this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• IMPORTANT:-
  Please have filled bobbins and threads ready for the start of the session...

• IMPORTANT:-
  Please check that your sewing machine is working well for straight stitch on heavy weight fabrics prior to the session; therefore, do run off some stitches on a scrap of fabric prior to the start of the session...

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Tickets for this Online Demonstration (via the Zoom platform) will be limited and allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! The ticket price of £40.00 (approx $45.00) is based on ONE person attending this crafting class

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This CraftyMonkies online interactive workshop is being broadcast from the United Kingdom and the class time given is based on British Summer Time (BST). We advise you check via Google Search (or similar) to see corresponding start-time in YOUR location! Here's a great world time zone reference:-

https://www.worldtimebuddy.com

 

Are you not able to attend this class due to living in a different time-zone? Are you otherwise engaged on the date of this workshop? Well, we have excellent news! This class is being recorded and a link will be sent to all classmates a few days after the class, so you can watch in your own time!

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You can either attend live or wait for the RECORDING to be sent a few days after the event for you to watch for 60 days. As long as you buy a ticket you can attend or just be sent the recording!​