Upcycled No-Sew Clutch From a Placemat and Belt

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Exercise your imagination and there's no end to the upcycling potential in your everyday, unwanted household objects. Case in point -- turn an old placemat and belt into a totally-on-trend clutch. And it gets even better. You can finish this project in under half an hour without having to thread a single needle. In fact, these clutches are so easy to whip up, you'll want to make one to match every outfit. Get started already!

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Image Credit: Maya Marin

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Things You'll Need

  • Rectangle placemat

  • Belt (leather or faux leather recommended)

  • Heavy duty shears

  • Hot glue gun

  • Heavy duty punch pliers for leather

  • Marker

Image Credit: Maya Marin

Step 1: Determine Your Clutch's Dimensions

To decide what dimensions you'd like your clutch to be, fold the placemat twice widthwise -- first from the bottom up (see image 1), and then fold from the top down (see image 2). The bottom-up fold will determine the size of the pouch portion, while the top-down fold determines the size of your cover flap.

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Image 1: fold from the bottom up (the pouch)
Image Credit: Maya Marin
Image 1: fold from the top down (the cover flap)
Image Credit: Maya Marin

Step 2: Glue Pouch Seams

Once you've decided what size to make your pouch and flap, glue down the left and right seams to complete the pouch portion of your clutch.

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Glue down both left and right seams
Image Credit: Maya Marin
Pouch complete.
Image Credit: Maya Marin

Step 3: Attach Buckle Strap

Before gluing on the belt (i.e. the buckle strap), figure out where you'd like the buckle to be placed on your clutch. Lift it up and place the belt underneath it, wrong side up and centered, with the buckle at the bottom. Now position the belt buckle in the spot where you'd like for it to be on your finished clutch (as shown below).

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Image Credit: Maya Marin

Mark the exact placement of the mat on the belt by drawing a line to mark the top edge and another to mark the bottom edge.

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Image Credit: Maya Marin
Image Credit: Maya Marin

Remove the placemat and apply glue to the belt between the marks.

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Image Credit: Maya Marin

Reposition your placemat between the marks and press down firmly to attach.

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Image Credit: Maya Marin

Now apply glue to the belt between the bottom edge of the pouch and the buckle.

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Image Credit: Maya Marin

Fold the bottom of the belt up to attach it to the front of the pouch.

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Image Credit: Maya Marin

Step 4: Finish the Buckle Fastener and Strap

Fold the top portion of the belt down and place a finger where you'll need to create a new hole (i.e. where the buckle tongue meets the pin). Mark the underside of this area with a dot.

Image Credit: Maya Marin
Image Credit: Maya Marin

Punch a new hole with the punch pliers in the marked spot.

Image Credit: Maya Marin

Finish attaching your strap by gluing down the top portion to the top flap of the clutch.

Image Credit: Maya Marin

Finally, use your heavy duty shears to cut the excess belt material.

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Image Credit: Maya Marin

Once the glue is dry, you're ready to throw a few basic necessities into your brand new, one-of-a-kind accessory and hit the town!

Image Credit: Maya Marin

And now I'll leave you with a couple more upcycled placemat clutches to further inspire you.

Image Credit: Maya Marin
Image Credit: Maya Marin
Image Credit: Maya Marin
Image Credit: Maya Marin

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