Did someone say THRIFT Flip?
My teenage daughter and I have been looking for a cool vinyl print garment to use to make a bumbag/fanny pack. Finally, we came across the perfect skirt. This skirt has everything, a 90's vibe, snakeskin, bright colours and the perfect length to keep it as a mini skirt with enough fabric for a bumbag and triangle top!
BumBags, as they are called in Australia or Fanny packs if you are elsewhere around the world, are pretty huge atm among teenagers, uni students music festivals and club-goers. It's the streetwear style that you need on your hip.
If you are like me and remember the original retro ones in the '80s, then you probably won't want to throw another one on your hip anytime soon, but if you like being on top of the latest fashion streetwear trends, then you will love the idea of making your own unique one.
So pull out your sewing machine and let's head back to 1988 when the music was on cassette tapes and the hair was as big as the hairspray would allow.
FANNY PACK BUMBAG TUTORIAL DETAILS
- Medium sewing skills
- Approx cost $5 (if upcycling)
- Approx time 1 hour
SUPPLIES TO MAKE YOUR BUMBAG
- A garment made from thick faux leather or any stiff fabric like a skirt or dress. Buy from a secondhand clothing shop or garage sale. I brought this skirt for $3, I know Bargain right!
- If you want to use new fabric, you will find the main fabric stores will cost you from $30 per metre, so for a tiny price at a secondhand shop you can create an on-trend fashion piece for a fraction of the cost of new. You know I love a good bargain.
- Zipper
- Belt to match the fabric ($1 from the thrift store)
- Sewing machine
- Scissors, pins
- Printer
- Bumbag sewing pattern. Find your free printable at the bottom of this post
Find your garment to flip
I am using a fitted skirt that sits just past the knee
STEP 2
Try on the garment and mark what length you want your new shorter skirt/dress to be and cut it in a straight line. Make sure there is enough fabric cut-off for the pattern pieces. I was lucky that the right length was just above the split in the back of the skirt, so the mini skirt did not look odd once cut.
STEP 3
Print and cut out the Bumbag pattern pieces.
STEP 4
Pin pattern pieces to the fabric and cut.
STEP 5
Pin and sew your zipper fabric ends. Cover those ugly ends!!!!
STEP 6
Pin your top panel and front panel to the zipper and sew one edge at a time. This fabric will not fray so no need to turn over hems
STEP 7
Sew your belt loop 1cm from the top of your back panel.
STEP 8
Pin your back panel to the front and top panel, making sure it is inside out and the zip is open a little. Sew around the whole edge, making sure you do not sew your hem over the belt loop.
Once sewn, trim the corners where the zipper ends are and snip your curved edges
STEP 9
Turn your pouch the right way out
STEP 10
Slide belt into the loop
And your Bum Bag is complete! Remember, this is not a lined design. I am trying to keep the fashion sewing tutorials as basic as possible for everyone to try and learn, as I have had some requests from girls wanting the latest trends but are not advanced in sewing. This is why I have also made this without an attached belt. By adding your own belt means you can customise it to suit your latest festival or clubbing outfit and it's also more basic to sew.
Of course, you don't have to wear it all together, but how could I not take a photo of this outfit all co-ordinating and shit!
As you can see I also had enough fabric to make a triangle top with the snakeskin fabric, so double thrift flip people! This post and basically all my posts are picture heavy, I am trying to reduce the number of photos so the website loads faster but I also don't want to not show all the steps clearly for you all, so I will create another post soon.