DIY Snaffle Bit Handbag for $5

Old pillowcase: Check. Old bit: Check. Combine to make a super cute summer tote? Awesome!

I spotted this article not to long ago showcasing horse-themed handbags.

These handmade New York designs reportedly cost between $300 and $1,000 and grace the shoulders of celebrities such as Scarlett Johanssen. But if I’m going to spend $1,000 on leather… it ain’t gonna be on a handbag. So let’s make our own!

I decided to use the free “no-sew” pattern offered on Huckleberry Love.

The whole thing took me less than 15 minutes to complete. You simply cut an old pillowcase on the diagonal and hem the edges…

Then with a few clever folds here and there and some Stitch Witch ($5 at Walmart)…

Bada bing, new handbag!

I finished mine off by tying it together with an O-ring snaffle bit.  A craftier person could sew on buttons to hold the bit, but I simply knotted the pillowcase to the rings.

Now, I hope you don’t judge this tote by my polka dots.  Honestly, I had no idea how it was going to turn out (I am a very uncrafty person) so I sacrificed my ugliest pillow case.

The possibilities for this design, though, are endless.  I think it would be super cute to try for a baby pad version.

And wouldn’t it be cool to make one from a race horse saddle towel?

Cheers to being crafty and saving money!

Go Riding!