I need a pattern or idea for a purse made from uniform tops
 

My nephew married a sweet girl back in April. He left for basic training near the end of May. His new wife saw a picture of a purse made from a military uniform top and would love one. She showed it to my sister, who is also currently on deployment, and my sister has asked me if I could make one.
I have made purses but never from a uniform. Do any of you have and tips, ideas or places to look for ideas? I would love to make this for her but honestly, I don't have any clue as how to begin. Help!!

I made an apron from an Air Force flight suit and it turned out quite nice. I "deboned" and in some cases opened the seams to get a larger piece of fabric. You might want to check Etsy. At one time someone was making purses from uniforms. One note - If you can incorporate the part with the Velcro/name tag, the recipient will love it!

I Googled and found a lot of places on the net that either have pictures or are selling bags like these. Do you have an actual uniform to work with? Here are just a few of the links I found by Googling:
http://www.mybraggbag.com/
http://sewlikemymom.com/military-uniform-tote/
http://www.military-money-matters.co...#axzz33d2t3wzI
http://www.custommadebymelissa.com/photo_3.html

I also found one opinion in opposition for using uniforms in this way:
http://spousebuzz.com/blog/2011/07/u...espectful.html

That would be an unique bag/purse, surely every military would want as souvenir of their time spent in military.. Do post pictures, wonder if it could be something I could introduce to our Quilt of Valour committee for Armed forces.

I looked at the bag in the making, just a concern it is military uniform, would there be rules you have to check before altering a army/military uniform?

I have no idea if there are rules concerning altering an army uniform. My sister has been in the Army for over 20 years. I will ask her what the rules are. I don't think she would ask anything to get herself or her son in any trouble with the military.

Prism99,
Thank you for the links. I really like them!

I made a diaper bag for my grandsons first child from his desert storm uniforms. It took 2 of his uniforms, I even used his name tag to put on the flap. I just used a regular pattern for a diaper bag.

I have a book called "Deploy that Fabric" by Jen Eskridge. She has a bunch of patterns for reusing military uniforms. You can get a used copy on Amazon.

Craftsy.com has lots of free patterns