Do any of you have random totes lying around that you love but don't use that often because you're scared things will fall out of it? Here's my hobo solution - just add a zipper!
How do you sew a zipper onto a tote? Simple :) Just need a needle, a zipper long enough to line the top of the top, some sewing thread and a lot of patience. I got my supplies from (where else) the dollar store around the corner, ($1 for a sewing kit) and my 12" zipper came from the crafts store a few blocks away for $2. The featured tote is an Ebay find - a colorful, perfectly "hobovogue" Tsumori Chisato tote. I fell in love with it the second I saw it - it has a beautifully complex print of florals, fauna and random figures scattered throughout the tote in an irreplicable design. I'm guessing that the tote was originally some sort of makeup bag - who knows? I feel like I've given it a new identity by sewing a zipper on it - so much handier now that I don't need to worry about little items falling out of it!
How do you sew a zipper onto a tote? Simple :) Just need a needle, a zipper long enough to line the top of the top, some sewing thread and a lot of patience. I got my supplies from (where else) the dollar store around the corner, ($1 for a sewing kit) and my 12" zipper came from the crafts store a few blocks away for $2. The featured tote is an Ebay find - a colorful, perfectly "hobovogue" Tsumori Chisato tote. I fell in love with it the second I saw it - it has a beautifully complex print of florals, fauna and random figures scattered throughout the tote in an irreplicable design. I'm guessing that the tote was originally some sort of makeup bag - who knows? I feel like I've given it a new identity by sewing a zipper on it - so much handier now that I don't need to worry about little items falling out of it!

This was before my tote got all zipped up....