Before and After: Sport Coat to Tote Bag Refashion

We bought a sport coat for Phil to wear with his Halloween costume. Even though I found it at a thrift store it was still $10, which seemed a little expensive to me, but we needed it so I paid the price. Once Halloween was over and I started putting things away I wondered what we would do with it. I hated to just send it back to the thrift store since I didn't feel I had quite gotten my whole $10 back, so I started thinking of things I might be able to use it for. The coat itself, although it was too big for Phil and not really his style, was made of 100% wool with a nice lining and was still in really good shape, so I decided to turn it into a tote bag.

Before:

This is the first time I have ever sewn a bag, let alone one made out of an old coat and leather (I wasn't sure if my machine could handle it but is sewed right through that leather like it was butter)! It took a bit of trial and error figuring out the size of everything so that it the finished product was half decent, but I love how it turned out and think its a fun accessory for fall and winter. I especially love the lining, which of course came from the original coat lining and still has all of the original jacket pockets.

After:

I am hoping to post a full tutorial soon, but there are A LOT of steps for this one so its taking me a while to write it all out. For now, I hope it just inspires you to think twice before you fill up that goodwill bag and repurpose your old things!