Third and final Botanicals bag-from-jeans

The third bag from my discarded and no-longer fitting jeans is finished. This one is made from the back of the jeans  - cut down the side seams and the top of the legs. 

As for the two previous bags, the motifs are taken from Beautiful Botanical Embroidery. This time, however the motifs are not joined into an overall landscape but simply arranged to fit the shape of the fabric. Both back pockets are included, although I cut off (quite crudely, without neatening) the flaps and buttons on the pockets. The holes left where the buttons were removed are each covered by an embroidered bee.

These are some of the motifs. I've changed the colours but mostly stuck to the recommended stitches.

Almost all embroidery is in DMC perle 5, which works really well on the soft denim. It gives texture and coverage without stiffness. It is now available (mine came from Create in Stitch) in a good range of colours. 

In a few places I used Zenbroidery thread, which is about the same thickness.

The purple is Coats Lotus No 8 - from the Guild trading table!

This is it before I folded it into the bag. At the end I added a few bees to fill empty spaces and create a unity ( evident on the photos at the top of this page).

I used a black and white Japanese cotton print of bamboo, with a few blue butterflies as lining. Seemed appropriate. The strap, as with the other two bags, is made from a strip of fabric from the front of the jeans.

I'm satisfied with my three bags. They will be useful for something and someone - and a reminder of those lost kilos.