Cutting up coats

Remember this little project when I asked for your advice?  

Well, I didn't use it.  Sorry!  The dark brown coat's leather was way too thin for a purse and so worn in 85% of it that I couldn't find big enough chunks to cut into for my new purse!

So I had to go with the suede-ish one.  It's really not as orange as the photos imply...

I pulled my old favorite purse apart and saw how they did some of the things on it.  

I planned to imitate it.  

It's an expensive Dionigi purse that I bought on Ebay for $30 about 15 years ago.  I just checked and simiilar ones sell for around $200+ currently. 

I haven't been able to find another like it anywhere since...  It had  a cross body strap that I'll be using on the new purse.  I LOVED this purse! Until the little tabs in the back started ripping off...  

I don't blame the purse or the design at all.  

I used it for years and leather can only take so much abuse.

Anyway, I did the two pockets on the front, then realized that I measured incorrectly and needed another pocket 1 inch wide.  Well, THAT wasn't going to work for anything, so I added a wider overlapping pocket to slip my reading glasses into.  So I've got one for my cell phone, one for miscellaneous purse stuff and one for my glasses.

And then a pocket with a zipper on the back side.  I'm using the original zippers from the old purse.  They still work and still have the Dionigi tags... :)  So people will think this is an original!  And then probably thinking poorly of the Dionigi brand.

This is the Fusi-Web stuff that I mentioned yesterday.  It doesn't actually SAY Fusi-Web anywhere on it.  It very well may NOT be...  But I'm pretty sure the original packet it came in said Fusi-Web.  Oh well, FW is the same thing as this.  And it came in SO handy when working with leather and the zippers.

A Sewing Gals secret weapon!

It's not done yet.  I need to do this carefully, so it will last at least another 15 years.