The other week I shared my first attempt at a sewing project for the Winter Pinterest Challenge. I promised you all a tutorial showing the process I did to make this cute little purse. You can also view the amazing tutorial I followed on Elm Street Life. Life then got crazy again, but I am finally sitting down to get this tutorial finished. On a side note, we closed escrow on our first home today! Now 3.5 months for packing and waiting until we move in. So on to the tutorial….
First things first, you will need to gather your supplies. You will need a few sewing basics like a sewing machine, rotary cutter, cutting mat, iron and ironing board. In addition for this project you need:
- Thicker fabric for the exterior (I used European Linen Fabric Fig
)
- Lining fabric (I used Kona Cotton Meringue
)
- 9″ Zipper is a complimentary color
- Matching thread (I had such a hard time deciding at the store that I came home with 3 shades)
- #808 Pellon craft fuse interfacing
Next step is to cut all the pieces of fabric. I found this step to be a bit frustrating as there seems to be a learning curve with accurately cutting fabric with a rotary cutter. It just seemed so slippery! I ended up re-cutting a few pieces and wasting a bit of fabric. The picture below is a guide for the pieces you will need to cut.
Interfacing: 10″x 6″ (2)
Liner fabric: 10″x 6″ (2)
Exterior fabric: Body 10″ x 6″ (2), Strap 14.5″ x 3.5″, Bow 11″ x 5″ (2), Knot 2″ x 5″
Now that we have all of our pieces it is time to get to sewing, starting with making the strap. Take the 14.5″ x 3.5″ piece of fabric and fold in half long-wise, press with your iron. Open and fold each edge to the middle crease, press in place. Fold in half again so you should have a skinny thick strip. To make the strap sturdier, you can tuck a strip of interfacing inside the fold as well. Now take it to your sewing machine and sew down both side of the strip near the edge. I did not do any measurements or stitch guides so this is a bit vague I know. Sorry, part of being a novice.
Next up is making the knot for the bow. Take your small 2″ x 5″ piece of fabric. Fold both edges towards the middle long-wise and press. Stitch down each side. Fold the entire piece in half with the raw middle edges facing out. Sew across about 1/2 inch from the rough ends (creates a fish-like loop). Trim excess ends and flip inside out. This gets a bit confusing, so I think pictures describe it best:
Next up, making the rest of the bow. Take your two 14.5″ x 3.5″ pieces. Lay together and pin long edges. Hop on the sewing machine and sew along both edges, removing pins as you go. Flip inside out so that you have a tube. Press flat. Bunch up the fabric at one end and fee through the knot you made in the previous step, leaving it off-centered.
Next let’s work on the front of the clutch. Take your two body pieces and two interfacing pieces. Iron the interfacing, shiny side down on the the body pieces. Once adhered fold down one long edge of the body/interfacing 1/2″ and press, repeat with the second set. Take one body piece and set on the table face up with the folded edge on the top. Pin the bow on near the top as desired for the look. Sew the edges of the bow on as close to the edge of the body as possible.
Getting closer; time to add the lining. Take your two lining pieces and fold the long edge 1/2″ down and press flat. Lay your zipper pull side down and pin one piece of lining fold side down on the zipper (as seen in the picture). Repeat on the other side of the zipper with the remaining liner piece.
And we have made it to the final steps. This part can be a bit confusing so it helps to use the pictures as a guide. Flip zipper/liner pull side up. Pin the front of the purse to the zipper, sew to attach. Repeat on the other side of the zipper with your back body piece. Pull the zipper down a few inches (you will need this space in the final step)! Once complete, fold from the zipper so that the back and front outside panels are together with the interfacing facing you and the liner pieces together on the other side. Pin back and front panels together all the was around and sew. Trim off excess fabric. Repeat with the liners, leaving a hole large to fit your hand through. Trim excess liner fabric. Now the tricky part, pull the entire bag inside out through the hole in the liner. This can take some coaxing and gentle tugging, but as long as you left the zipper down a bit before sewing it should work out. Stitch the hole in the liner closed and press the entire clutch one last time.
And there you have it, a completed bow clutch! Pretty awesome! My zipper is not lining up perfectly at the edges, but I am still super happy with my first experiment in sewing.
Now that I am learning to sew I am excited to try to make some home decor items soon!!
Looking to buy fabric? I love getting mine through fabric.com. And with free shipping offers it is a great way to save time shopping online.
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