I could tell it was very sturdy, made out of a thin plywood. The outside of the suitcase was covered in what seemed to be a thick fabric maybe, and it was dirty and stained. All of the hardware worked great; and, even though they were a little discolored, I loved the way they looked. The handle and all of the trim are brown leather. The only real problem I could see was the inside of the suitcase, which had some mildew.
Before I started working on my suitcase, I had to figure out what I wanted to make it into. At first I thought maybe an end table or a pet bed, but then I decided I wanted to keep it as a working case since all of the hardware and the handles were functional and cool! So I decided to transform it into a craft/sewing case.
So now... Just where do you begin on a project like this? Break it down:
- How to Refashion The Outside of the Suitcase
I wanted to keep all of the hardware, the handle, and the leather trim how it was, so I decided I would cover the outside of the suitcase using fabric and decoupage techniques. Follow these instructions to learn how I finished the outside of the suitcase. - How to Refashion The Inside of the Suitcase
The inside of the suitcase had to be gutted because there was some mildew and it was smelly! Besides that, some of the pieces on the inside if the suitcase were also warped and peeling away. This tutorial will show you exactly how I gave the inside of this vintage suitcase a facelift!
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