DIY – PIMP YOUR SUMMER MARKET BASKET BAG

If you have just found my website and are looking for a simple leather DIY, don’t look any further! If you have already some leather craft experience but just love the latest bag trends, also, don’t look any further. Because this is just an awesome and simple DIY  for the upcoming summer. In this DIY we are gonna pimp the all-over Pinterest and Instagram liked MARKET BASKET BAG!

I love bargain hunting and just before the whole hype of the market basket bag was introduced on social media I found two of those authentically shaped market basket at a ‘super-sale-kind-of-store’  just for 3 euros….WHAT…?!   Usually everything they sell is useless or bad quality but in this case, they were in great shape and more important provided with real leather straps! I just had to take them with me. The only thing, I didn’t like about the bags was the length of the strap. So I thought let’s combine multiple techniques in a super simple but beautiful and soo functional project.

What do you need:

• A market basket bag with real leather straps
• Stanly knife
• Two leather needles
• Waxed thread
• a dauber
• some water
• leather cream or oil

Optional for type II:

• leather dye (I used Fiebings pro dye black)
• Resolene

We will be creating two kinds of market basket bag, one with the original brown leather straps and one with black dyed straps. You might ask yourself, why should I need both…. that’s an easy answer to an easy question… to match with all your bikini’s or outfits… :).

Step 1: Cut loose and to the perfect length

The first steps should be applied for both types of bags. Cut the original threads on one side of the strap and measure the desired length. For me, the straps were a little too long but this might be different for each bag and person. Cut the strap on the marked location and remove the strap completely of the bag.

Step 2: Rehydrate

The market bag is usually used for some grocery shopping and all the weight will be on the straps. If you don’t take care of your leather straps they will become dehydrated and break eventually. To prevent this, especially on the ones I have bought, we will have to rehydrate them. The first step is to give them some water. Don’t soak them but just brush over the straps and you will see the leather absorbing the water in just a split second.

Step 3: Dye the leather

The next step can be skipped if you love the authentic look of the brown straps but if you are interested in the process of leather dyeing, please follow these steps. Cover your workbench with some newspapers for protection and you might even want to put on some plastic gloves since it is leather paint (it will also paint your skin ….for the upcoming weeks).Dip the dauber in the dye and just paint the straps with circular motions. Not that hard at all, wasn’t it?

Step 4: Oil and finish

To boost the leather condition, even more, you can apply some oil to it. In this case, I used jojoba oil. This doesn’t contain any chemicals, doesn’t stain the leather or your clothes and doesn’t get stinky after some time, so perfect for our leather projects! Since we have used dye, we also have to finish it with some Resolene, “A flexible, durable and water resistant acrylic top finish for dyed or polished leathers”. But before applying it make sure you wait till the dye has dried 24h and the oil has been absorbed fully. 

Step 5: Sew it on and enjoy!

The last and final step is to sew the straps back on the bag and enjoy your perfect summer bag! Wouldn’t it be a great bag to take with you on holiday? Perfect for picknicks along the Seine, beach days at Santorini or shopping in Malaga… Have you already decided your which one is your favourite?