My First White Denim Tote Bag With Pink Lining And Levi Strauss & Co.

Not long ago I was asking the #needlework community if I can use a pink lining for a bag. The answer was clear, pink is not for everyone, but who like pink, will like it 😁

It's not a secret that I don't like pink at all, but for some unknown reason this lining has started to grow on me and finally decided I need to use it. Matching the denim with the lining is a challenge as not everyone likes what I do, we are all different with different tastes and ideas. I'm trying to do my best to pick lining that matches the denim but the one who's going to pay for the bag is the one who decides it's good or bad.

Fabrics

After a lot of thinking I decided to use this white Levi Strauss jeans. It's a well known and appreciated brand, so I wanted to keep the original label, both labels actually, which gave me quite a bit of headache.

First I wanted to do it with a zipper but the big label made it impossible at the end, so I chose a magnet instead.

Ok, let's see the process.

This was the starting point. I wanted to keep the pocket with the label and this is the piece that I could cut out.

I wanted to use the original zipper, so I thought I'd make a pocket, on top or the original pocket.

This is the pocket's outer part, with the zipper incorporated.

The pink lining on the other side of the pocket.

The one that is actually the pocket.

And the pocket is ready, or I should say the front part of the bag.

Next I needed to apply two pieces on both sides to create the front part.

The back is simple, nothing spectacular as I thought the simpler, the better. The front is that matters here. The straps are longer than I'm used to as the bag is quite big.

My Dilemma

As I said at the beginning of the post, matching these two gave me quite bit of a headache. In my mind, Levi Strauss is a brand that is tied to heavy work and not by accident. If you don't know the history of the brand, I suggest you read it here.

To cut the long story short, Levi Strauss sold his first jeans to gold miners during the California Gold Rush, then later the jeans were sold to working people, cowboys, lumberjacks, and railroad workers source. This is why I had a hard time accepting the two. Pink is for ladies, girls, not hard working guys.

However, hat was then and this is now, times have changes and so style and fashion. Will this bag be liked? I can't tell you now but we're going to find it out soon as I'm going to list it for sale on Etsy.

Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think.

This is my contribution to #NeedleworkMonday.