Ohio State Jersey to Bag

My son had an Ohio State jersey that I was going to sell in our garage sale, but decided to make something I could continue to use, and essentially didn't cost anything! (I used an old baby sheet for the lining and had fusible fleece and a magnetic closure on hand- I did have to buy nylon belting for the strap. I think it was less than 2 bucks!)
Here is his jersey- it is a 24 month, so you would need to do more cutting if you were using a larger size.

Start by cutting the arms off- I left a little extra room for seam allowance, but it wasn't really necessary since I ended up sewing inside the sleeve area anyway.
Then cut across the top, this time definitely leaving seam allowance. I wanted to be able to see the Ohio State emblem/patch at the middle of the v neck.
You're left with a square:
Sew along the bottom edge of the jersey (I did it twice just to make it more sturdy)
Then pin and mark a straight line to sew up the sides. Like I said, I actually ended up sewing up the entire length of the jersey because I couldn't get the sleeve area to look right otherwise.

Then you're left with the basic outside shell.

Now measure the length and width of the bag,

And cut a coordinating piece the same size.

Now is when I stopped taking pictures because I got too involved and forgot! If you want a pocket, add it to your lining now. Then iron your fusible fleece to the lining and sew the sides and bottom of the lining fabric (I used a folded piece). I then sewed across the corners of my bag and lining so it would be more "boxy" at the bottom and allow more storage space.

Then place your bag inside your lining so that the right sides are together. Sew around the top leaving 2 openings on each side of the bag so you can add your handle and turn the bag right side out.

After turning the bag right side out, pin the strap into place and top stitch around the entire top of the bag.

Before I finished the top stitching I also added a magnetic closure in the lining, but that would be completely optional.

Here is the inside:

The front:

The back:

GO BUCKS!!!

Linked Here