Upcycled Passport Boarding Pass Holder from Old Cancer Research Canvas Bag

I bought a really nice canvas bag from a Cancer Research shop some years ago. Love it but don't use it enough, mainly because it's a little too flat (no gusset) and I'm a girl with many things. I've been trying, but can't seem to make it more useful than just fitting a couple of thin folders in it. So I had 2 choices: force myself to take it out regularly and let it get dirty, OR, don't use it and let it get dusty and mouldy. Such a dilemma.

During my recent travel, I was rather annoyed by the fact that I have nothing in the right size that can house both a passport and a boarding pass. They are either too narrow for the passport or the opening is too short for the boarding pass, and I'm quite skeptical about folding it.

After some window shopping/market research trips to the shops, all I could find are either very expensive leather goods, or the cheaper PVC version that won't last a year. I decided that I'd put my little fingers to good use and do my Cancer Research bag some justice.

A few sketches, a whole day of hard stitching (mind you, hand stitching on canvas is no joke) and numerous oops and ouches later, here's what I got myself:


An up-cycled Cancer Research wallet that my passport and any boarding pass can fit nicely in, even great for certain shopping vouchers (God knows why they made them so long!) 😍

The Cancer Research canvas bag before the make over
The process was pretty simple:
1. Measure and cut the canvas and a sheet of craft foam (as lining) to the desired size: 22cmx22cm (with excess of at least 2cm all round)
2. Fold into half and secure the foam with 2 ends wrapped over it, then sew both sides.
3. Turn it out, then secure the loops (which are unused hair rubber bands for when I had long hair) with (old) buttons on one side,


4. and stitch 2 more buttons on the other side. The rubber band can now be looped over and keep the content secure. Obviously, it won't keep coins, but that wasn't what I was after. It serves its intended purposes and I'm super happy with the result, and myself 😆




There's still a lot of leftover material from the canvas bag, and I'm definitely not going to waste it. I might just make another one of these, or as and when the light bulb flicks again, something else. Who knows 😏

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