A drawstring bag decorated with pretty fabric and lace

I feel like I’m bringing you a very niche upcycle today. I struggled to think of the best title for this tutorial, where I’m going to share how I took a fabric gift bag that had a store logo stamped on it, and basically covered it in a pretty way with fabric scraps and lace so it can be reused.

I’m bringing this to you as my contribution to this month’s Do It Over Designers Challenge, when I join a group of fellow creative bloggers and we all “Do something over”; give it a new look and a new life. Stay tuned at the end of this tutorial to see the other projects.

Refashioning a cloth bag with a store logo

I don’t know how many of you are ever going to find yourself in the position of owning a fabric bag similar to this and wondering what to do with it? I confess I am a keeper of things I think will be useful one day - that is obviously very different from being a hoarder! When I was given this bag I just thought it was too good to throw away. I could, of course, have just used it as it was. It would have been perfectly good for storing something in, but I thought maybe I could do better than that.

I had a rummage in my craft stash and found a selection of fabric, lace and haberdashery bits to give this bag an upgrade.

Arrange fabric and lace to cover the logo

I played around with bits of fabric first. This lovely bird print is from some fabric which has been seen here on the blog before. My friend turned out a full double bed set that was a little faded in parts, a quick chop off of the faded bits and so I’ve got lots of this really lovely fabric to use. You can see it on this patchwork bag and this glass candle jar to pincushion upcycling idea.

This is a pretty simple idea, just layer up your fabric, lace and ribbon on the bag so any logo is covered and you are happy with the arrangement.

Then stitch round the shapes. This doesn’t have to be too perfect, just make sure all the sides are held down. I guess you could use a fabric glue if sewing is not your thing, but be sure to put something inside the bag before you do any glueing to make sure you don’t stick it shut! Personally I’ll always prefer to sew as I know it will last well but that’s just me.

Adding extra embellishments

Then to finish you can add extra embellishment if you’d like to, I added a flower, a flower cut from lace and some buttons. I used these embellishments to cover a fraying bit of ribbon, they can cover all sorts of mistakes!

That’s it! Unless you look inside you’d never know what was on the bag before. All ready to use to store something special or to use as a lovely gift bag.

A natural linen drawstring bag decorated with scraps of fabric, ribbon and lace

I’ve also created a “no sew” version of a similar promotional bag in case sewing is not your thing, you can find details of that here: No Sew Bag Upcycle

This idea has reminded me of a similar project I did quite a few years ago when I covered the logo on a tote bag with strips of fabric, you might like to check that out too:

My creative blogger friend Vicky Myers Creations has covered an unwanted logo on a bag. She’s used clever sewing technique to add lots of texture and give her bag a whole new look.

Now it’s time to see what my creative blogger friends have made this time for the Do It Over Designers Challenge.

Sum of Their Stories | Upcycle a Cloth Gift Bag to Cover a Store Logo (that’s the project you’ve just read!)

Tea and Forget-Me-Nots | Beautiful Coffee Table Makeover with Chalk Paint and Wedding Transfer

The Apple Street Cottage | The Book Witch

Birdz of a Feather | Record Player Stand DIY

Exquisitely Unremarkable | Wooden Shelf Makeover

Purple Hues & Me | Truck Bed Pumpkin Theme Hanging

Southern Sunflowers | Scarecrow Ceiling Fan Blade

Do you have a fabric bag tucked away somewhere that could have a whole new life after a bit of a “do over”? Why not have a rummage in your craft stash and see what you can use?

Julie

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