I am in love with my large Healthy Back Bag purse.  Sadly the company has decided that they will no longer offer this size for sale.  So when my last purse died I scoured various sites so I could adopt a gently used purse.  I managed to find an affordable one in the correct size.  However, on my previous purse, the company had changed the closure on the flap pocket to use magnets.  But on my new to me gently used purse the flap closure uses velcro.  Unfortunately, the velcro was damaging my clothes as the nylon dresses I like to wear can easily be snagged/rubbed/pilled by the velcro.

I hatched a plan.  I decided to remove the velcro and replace it with magnetic snaps that I would sew on.  This lead me to do some online shopping and order a bunch of different magnetic snaps of various types and sizes.  When the order arrived July 1st (a Canadian holiday – Happy Canada Day) and so I set to work.

While struggling to get the seam ripper between the velcro and the purse I was obviously a bit too forceful and I ripped the purse 🙁  Sadness.

This required a bit of a rethink.  I dug out my large patch weaving tool and positioned it on my purse.  Then I used some strong nylon thread to create a strengthening repair of the tear.  (It is crude but hopefully effective.)

Next I dug out some embroidery floss to weave with.  I selected the dark purple thread bundle from the package on the left.  I was expecting it to weave up as a nice plaid.

Using some tailors chalk I then marked out the area I wanted to cover with my weaving on the pocket of my purse.  My goal was to roughly centre the patch of weaving, so I used a tape measure to check my lines. I was also hoping that the chalk lines would help me make a tidy square.

After planning my area I threaded the needle and began warping the mending loom.  There were a few challenges.  A few of the hooks on the mending loom were twisting over each other.  In addition, the dark purple was hard to see well against the black.  My needle was also a bit large and very sharp (there was some minor blood letting when I pricked my finger.)

I did get the loom threaded though there are a couple of crossed threads and one missed hook.  By the time I discovered those problems I was onto the weaving.  I figured that these flaws would be minor and so I continued on.

After a bit of effort the rectangle was woven. I did find the chalk lines were helpful to guide my stitches and keep the edges relatively straight. I would definitely use chalk to mark out my border again.  After removing the loom I sewed the pocket closed and then sewed in all my tails.

Finally it was time to work on my magnetic snaps.  I poked through the selection of various snaps that I purchased, and decided to use these metal snaps for the flap.  I also decided that I would install two snaps instead of a single snap in the middle of the flap. (My old purse had a single snap.).  I threaded my needle with the strong black nylon thread and sewed on the snaps.  (This was harder than expected as my needle frequently got jammed in the eye hole on the snaps.)

My project was a bit more involved than I originally expected.  But I am delighted with my purple patch and the new magnetic snaps on my purse.

I hope this post inspires you to repair something that you love and breathe some new life into it.