Plaid Dress Refashion (Part 2) | DIY Handbag & Detachable Collar

As promised, here is part two of the button-down maxi dress refashion. If you haven’t seen part one yet, here’s the link.

It was from that very plaid dress, that I re-covered this old saddle handbag. As for the other materials used for this project, they were from around my house. Most were collected from another old bag, besides the door bolt part.

Since the collar was straightforward, I’ll start with that first. I felt for the dress to truly double as a coat, the collar had to go. Hence, I made it detachable.

Here’s what I did

(Detachable Collar)

1. First, I removed the collar from the dress, being careful to avoid warping the neckline. The collar had a stay stitch, which is what prevents this. But to open up the collar, I had to remove it.
2. After the stay stitch was removed, I turned the collar inside-out. I then closed the seam with a straight stitch, leaving an opening in the center.
3. Next, I turned the collar right-side out from the opening, then hand sewed (slip stitch) it closed. For the closure, I sewed a hook-and-eye fastener at the neck. *The bow was a last minute addition, that I made from ribbons found on a VS gift bag. I first joined them and heat sealed the ends. I then used this fabulous tutorial to make the bow.

(Saddle/Crossbody Bag)

*Other supplies used: materials (plaid, lining and leather), cross-body strap, hot glue gun, needle and thread (heavy duty & regular), pliers and scissors.

1. First, I tried the fabric scraps onto the bag, to ensure I had enough for all sides and to match the plaid. I then proceeded to take the bag apart, making note of what goes where, for reassembly later.
2. Next, I pressed then pinned one square of the plaid onto the back of the bag, paying close attention to the pattern. I then hand sewed it in place with a running stitch all around, except for the top.
3. Afterwards, I took the gusset (with allowance folded under) and overlapped it onto the back, matching and pinning, following the running stitch. I then used my glue gun, to secure ONLY the back side of the gusset to the back of the bag. *I wasn’t able to photograph this as I had to work quickly.
4. The front panel was done similarly, except I first had to match the front with the gusset BEFORE hand sewing it to the bag. Then, like the back, I overlapped and glued the gusset onto the front. Once that was done, I also went ahead and glued the top to the inside of the bag. *A little trick I used to conceal the glue marks, was coloring it with a sharpie.
5. Next, I glued the D-rings on each side of the gusset. For added strength, I also hand sewed them using the heavy duty thread and the help of my pliers. I then reattached the female part of the snap with a washer, back onto the front of the bag.
6. For the lining, I took apart the old one and used it as a guide, to fabricate the other. I finished it off by clipping the corners and curves.
7. After that, I inserted the new lining inside the bag (wrong sides facing), pinning the sides together first. Once it was all pinned, I hand sewed along the rim of the bag, using a blind (slip) stitch.
8. Lastly, was the flap. I cut the leather flap using the old one as a template. Before gluing it to the back of the bag, I first had to figure out the placement, including the wristlet strap. Then, I attached the other hardware. At this point, I had secured the male part to a thin piece of faux leather and pinpoint where it would go. Once I did that, I fastened the barrel bolt on first then ran the wristlet strap through it. I then hot glued the male part on to conceal it all, clipped on the cross-body strap and done!

Let’s talk about the lining for a sec. Got it from my mom’s scraps stash ages ago.

Boy, that was quite the mouthful! Honestly, the handbag took some effort to complete, since I had to play around with the plaid to match the panels. I knew if I wanted the bag to not look amateurish, then there was really no way around it.

Thoughts?