DIY - Update Your Handbag

Here is my first DIY that was featured on http://www.socialitedreams.com/blog-posts/whats-old-is-new-again-budget-fashionista-diy-handbag.html a few weeks ago. Hope you enjoy and coming up later this week DIY - Make Your Own Bracelets.

Have a bag that you stop wearing and it's just sitting around collecting dust? Are you about ready to though it away? Well don't, just update it with a new look. In my first DIY I'm going to show you how to add chains to your bag to give it a new look.  Update your bag in a few minutes with these few steps.

What you will need

1. A Bag

2. Chain

3. Thread

4. Needle

5. Scissors

Get a chain for any old necklace that you have laying about that you don't wear anymore, or buy a cheap chain from a store like Claire's. Also make sure you get a multi chain so that there will be a layer of chains for your bag. My chain came with a safety pin so try and get a chain that has one, if you can't find a chain that as a safety pin that's ok. Or you can just by a safety pin that matches your chain.

Next take your safety pin, if you bought a safety pin at this point you just simple attach it to the chain and pin it onto one of the straps on your bag, make sure your pining it to the front of the bag. If you don't have a safety pin skip over this and we will came back to this part at the end.

Next your going to take your scissors and cut off the part of the chain that looks like this. See pictures below to make sure you cut the right part. 

So what is gone from your chain now is the little lock that hooks the necklace together.

Next take your needle and thread and thread your needle, cut about the length of your arm for the thread. Once you do that tie a double knot at both ends of the thread.

Now take the loop from the first layer of your chain and tuck it into the straps of you bag.

Then take your needle that is threaded and start to sew. Like in my picture when you start make sure the needle is coming up, (this is so that the knot we made at the end of the thread will not show) and pull until you get to the end of the thread, its going to be like your making a loop.

Next take the last chain on the necklace and put the needle throw one of the chain loops, tuck the loop of the chain under the strap of the bag like you did before, and sew once again make sure your needle is always coming up and not going down when your sewing.

Now that your almost finished on the side that you sewed the chain onto the straps of the bag it should look like this up close. If you did a good job with your hand sewing and use dark thread or thread that matches your bag if you bag is not black you should not notice the sewing from normal view of your bag.



Next take you needle and push it throw the strap, your pushing the needle throw the back for the strap this is so that the knot will be not be seen, make a knot 1- 3 times and cut.

Know for people who couldn't get a chain that had a pin, do these same steps to the other side of your bag with the other end of the chain.

Once you have done that...

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Its time you enjoy your "new" bag :)

Now if you want to add more go ahead and have fun or if you want to add some studs, all you need its studs a glue gun and have fun!