Monday, July 25, 2011

My mind is so full with them all.....

....my clutch pattern ideas, that is.  I've been going through this world these last few days with a mind full of sewing ideas.  Mostly they are clutch purses, and tote bags, and embroidery ideas....but they're there and I had to get them out so I spent a lot of this weekend writing them down with little notes and all that jazz.  Well, yesterday I finally talked myself into trying out one of the designs!  Here's my little journey that took all of about an hours to make:

First you need to pick out fabric that you *LOVE*!  I would suggest cotton to start out with just until you get used to working with fabrics and your sewing machine if you're a newbie.  Since this was just a prototype I used part of an old sheet that I scored at a yard sale for next to nothing.
For an envelope clutch, the easiest shape to cut is a house shape.  Cut two of these, pin together so sides all line up, and then stitch around the TOP 4 sides with the right sides of the fabric facing each other.....leave the bottom open, and don't forget to back stitch so that your bottom isn't going to come undone.  Also, once stitched, kind of whack off the sharp corners so that once it is turned right sides out those corners don't bulge in an odd way.  I found that it helped a wholeeeee lot to iron all the seams once the right sides are out as well.  Then, take the bottom, fold the edges into each other and stitch along that edge to close up the shape.  Fold the bottom up to the base of the triangle shape, then stitch - I stitched with the seam so that you can see it, I like the effect it gave.
You should end up with something looking like this.  Just add your closure and it is done!  I'm not a fan of zippers in this type of clutch so I will add a button of some kind probably, or I may go and find a snap closure for a little extra durability.  I'm kinda in love.
See?  It is super easy!  All you need to know is how to seam correctly and sew in a straight line on the machine!  It was a little tough to sew up the side seams with all that fabric in there, so I will probably cut down on that seam next time so that I can do the side seam a little closer to the side, but I love the effect this way too!  I'm thinking it needs a contrasting color for it to really stand out.  Hm.....ideas for next time!  I was thinking of making a few for Etsy since they were super easy to make....Speaking of Etsy, I've been slowly creating a stock pile of stuff to post, so I need to do that soon.  Probably around the first week of August!

Oh!!  And the most important part of this project!

You *HAVE* to have a helper!!! :)

1 comment:

  1. Hey Prajaline! I found your great blog and I LOVE IT!! Your animals are so sweet, love the kitty picture and your house is super adorable.

    GanGanDi

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and leaving me some loverrrrrly words!