Duct, Duct, Duct. . . Purse!

At the end of a recent library show, a fellow vendor who sold library supplies was getting rid of his wares and gave me a very large, very red, roll of duct tape. I really haven't known what to do with it until I came across this delightful book. Yes, you can make an awesome looking bag out of duct tape. Simply Sublime Bags by Jodi Kahn contains 30 low or no sew projects - everything from tote bags to make-up cases. Several use duct tape, mostly as an inner lining, but there is also an evening bag project where coloured duct tape is first fringed and layered on in horizontal stripes to form the outside. It looks really good, honestly. Most of the projects use common objects - placemats, shower curtains, metallic postal envelopes - as inspiration for these unique purses. One of my favourite projects uses materials found in any hardware store - a cheery, waterproof tote made out of a rain slicker with yellow bungee cords for the handles. There's also a really cool picnic basket made out of astroturf. The instructions are very clear and easy to read. Great for weekend projects.