I love anything that sparkles, I wish I could glittery my whole life. So when I saw a gorgeous beaded cross-body bag I thought I had to have it. Until I saw the price, which was surprisingly not too high, but far too low. Beading garments is more often than not done by hand and  the sad truth is that these jobs are often outsourced to the cheapest workers you can find, impoverished children. (More info here) This is something I am not willing to support, so did I forget about the bag? Nope, I made it myself. Yes, it took forever but it was totally worth it. It was fun getting to design the pattern and I am very pleased with the outcome.

I used sequins of two different sizes combined with glass beads and laid out the pattern before sewing it on bead by bead. With some scrap fabric I sewed a pouch and added a zipper. For the strap I used some bias tape (which I’ll be looking to replace with something stronger) and two chains I had. The ones I used were made especially for adornment but a great alternative would be the strands on a broken necklace. Despite it taking a very long time I enjoyed it so much that I have some other projects planned.

Remember you vote with your money so think twice and buy wise.