Look, I finally got around to something I’ve been meaning to do for ages!
This central panel used to be a tote bag that I bought from The Body Shop way back in 1992, or thereabouts, at the height of supermodel mania. The glossy magazines were filled with Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Elle McPherson, Christy Turlington, and presumably four other supermodels who I can’t remember right now. (1992 was a long time ago!)
The tote bag had been on its last legs for a very long time – the straps were frayed and fragile, and the fabric was stained in the corners from 20+ years of spilled drinks and lunches. I didn’t want to throw it out because I love the sentiment:
“there are three billion women who don’t look like supermodels, and only eight who do”.
The Body Shop
Recently my husband brought home a new tote bag from an IT conference, so I decided to chop up my beloved old one, and use it to cover up the huge logo on the new bag. All I did was cut out the central panel, and use one of the fancy embroidery stitches on my sewing machine to attach it to the new bag. I didn’t bother with hemming the edges – I knew that the fabric would fray, and I quite like the visual reminder that it’s actually a bit old and worn out – just like me! Even without a sewing machine, this would be a super easy fix. You could stitch a patch onto a new bag by hand, you could use fabric glue, or you could use an iron-on interfacing to stick it into place. We have another one of these bags, and my husband has at least one beloved t-shirt that’s becoming too worn out to wear, so that would be an ideal candidate for a similar makeover. Cut out the print, stick or stitch it over the logo, done!