Blockette's Bike Basket

Blockette outgrew her last bike over the winter.  Mrblocko and Blockette went out and found this bike themselves.  On Clearance.  And it's girly!

This is her first girly bike.

We've been buying her boys bikes in the past because they felt so much sturdier.  What's the deal?  Girls can't be all rough and tumble with their bikes like boys?

Anyhow, Blockette has been wanting some way to carry her own water on Bike rides.  I thought about making her a super fancy basket but that seemed really complicated and beyond my sewing skills.

So I made this instead:

A jeans bike basket!

Over the winter my best friend gave me a bag of old holey jeans.  This pair happens to have belonged to her daughter.  Normally I'd hack off the legs and make cut offs for Blockette, however, there was also a hole in the crotch.  With all those seams meeting up it was just a bit too tricky for me to patch.  So into the crafting pile they went.

This pair of jeans just seemed perfect for this project.

Guess how it's attached to the bike frame?

The button elastic that was already inside the jeans! 

I can't stop patting myself on the back for that idea.  I'm not sure if it's ever been done before, but it was one of the few crafting creations I got from my own brain, not Pinterest or some random blog.

As I mentioned earlier, there was a hole and worn spot on the seam of the crotch.  I was worried about the stability of the bottom of the bag.  So I decided to line it.  The fabric is also from my bestie who was down sizing her fabric stash.  It's got little skirts all over it.  I thought that was a fun fabric to put on the inside of a bag that used to be a pair of pants.

Once I had the lining made I ran into a little issue.  Since I was using the elastic as a strap this meant I couldn't attach the lining where I wanted to.  Then I realized just about anywhere I wanted to attach the lining would require me to stitch through the belt loops.  I didn't want to do that either.  Then I realized I was going to have to stitch over the fly.  I wasn't sure how my sewing machine would handle that.

It must have been fate, because earlier in the week I had purchased some fabric glue for a different craft project.  This is the kind of fabric glue that once it drys is a permanent bond.  Whatever you glue can go in the washer and dryer, once the glue has dried.

This was the first time I've used this fabric glue.  So far it's held up great.

I was unsure if Blockette would like the jean basket/bag for her bike.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it successfully, so I didn't tell her until it was finished.  I almost gave up at least three times. I'm glad I kept problem solving and finally finished it because Blockette thinks it's awesome!  She even told me that she now has the coolest bike EVER.