Yay, I've finally finished a DIY Project! This one is a no-sew, but I still wanted to show it off because it looks really good.
The item I altered is front-and center: An Ettienne Aigner Purse! I bought this purse for $8 at a garage sale, but I didn't notice that part of the strap was torn (and had stuffing coming out...a real mess to sew back together) until I got home. But I said, "Well, I'll just cut it off and attach some chains to it and call it a day." and yesterday, that's what I did with two identical chains from hot topic's clearance section ($6 each). I could have done it with one, but I wanted a cross-body bag anyways, so I let the Aigner purse do double-duty. At $20, this purse DIY is a pretty good deal (a lot of higher-end purses would put me into debt, so I'm definitely satisfied) even though the chain dug into my bare shoulder a bit.
Here are a few tips for altering your purse's strap:
1. Make sure your straps are long (and strong) enough for the purse to look right and bear the brunt of your stuff's weight. (chains are really suited for smaller purses, but there are places (Hot Topic) that occassionally have pant-straps with chains on it for sale in case you want the chain look on a larger purse. Belts would also be a great strap replacement, especially since many are adjustable to various lengths.)
2. Purse straps will cooperate better with good scissors. (If you don't have any good scissors, get some. They're a DIY-er's best friend.)
3. If your cut is ragged/jagged, tape it up with electrical tape (The one thing I need to do still on that purse...gotta find my black electrical tape.), if it doesn't look like it'll fray, just shade in the edge w/ black Sharpie. If you try to cut it too close, you might end up destroying parts of the purse you wanted untouched.
Ciao, lovelies!
the_ed
