On our long holiday to New Zealand inovlving two long flights two suitcases had finally outlived their working days. The handles would not go up and down. the zip pulls had come off.
We tried watching videos on how to repair the handles. We attached twist ties temporarily, and bought zip pulls. Then my husband bought two 'new' to us, second hand suitcases in New Zealand op shops (charity shops), and declared his determination to dump the old suitcases.
However, I wanted to see what I could save. Previously I have saved fabric lining, a soft handle to add to the broken handle of a ool box to make it easier to carry.
This time I cut off the eleastic strap which fastens over clothes inside a suitcase. My original idea was simply to use the wide elastic for the waists or skirts or even pyjama bottoms or outsize shorts.
However, the clasp of the two pieces of elastic looked like a belt. Hey - I had a spare belt!
As a temporary measure, I fastened down the ends of the elastic in three places, both sides of the buckle, and where they would meet at the centre of my back. I used a stapler. This was not a permanent solution. I was afraid the staple woul either scratch me, or tear at other garments. Or pull apart.
However, the staples were a quick way to fasten my new belt to check the size, the amount of overlap required and to hold it in place when I sewed it together.
If you don't need the elastic for a belt, you might transfer the strap from an old suitcase to a new one. Or use it to convert a handbag into a shoulder bag. Or attach it to shorts or trousers as braces to hold them up, rather than in.
Happy sewing, happy traavelling, happy recycling.
I remember being on holiday in Cyprus and urgently needing a belt to hold up my shorts and a skirt (after losing weight in Covid deliberately since this increased my life expectancy). I eventually found a luggage shop selling belts. I could have made a belt from a discarded or cheap suitcase.
If none was available, as a temporary measure, I could even have cut the strap whilst on holiday staying at one hotel for the whole holiday with clothes outside the suitcase so the strap was not needed during the holiday. Then when packing for return, I could have sewn the straps back in the suitcase, just for the return journey, or permanently, as I had other belts at home.
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