Make Of The Month - Fabric Purse

Hello all,

The weather seems to have calmed down a bit (for now) and I've had a bit of a creative weekend, which reminded me I haven't done a 'Make Of The Month' post for a while so I thought I'd show off my first ever attempt at a fabric purse!

I had a purse clasp as a free gift with Crafty Magazine last year and was determined to make something with it. I missed the bit in the magazine about downloading a template, so this make is a combination of Crafty's instructions, and a template/info sourced from my Nan (who also helped source the material from my Aunt).

My instructions

I had a thick denim outer and some purple fabric all cut out to form the purse and lining, this was the easy bit. The instructions were very brief, and at times not all that clear - it didn't say for example how far up the sides to sew, and when I had to put the lining inside the outer layer, push it out the top and then sew it to the purse in the right way (so I could turn it the right way in and it would lay neatly inside the purse) I got pretty confused.

As it was was my very first go I expected to go wrong, and I did, sewing the lining in wrong - basically the wrong side of the lining sewn on to the wrong side of the purse - I could've fixed it but by then it would have mean't unpicking things again - so I cut the lining off in a fit of rage.

Sticking the remaining fabric into the purse clasp has got to be the most tricky time consuming task I have ever done - it took me ages to wiggle about the fabric and as one side was in the other side fell out, but patience paid off and I found a technique that works. I was a bit nervous as it was drying worried it wouldn't hold, but I have a finished purse, that looks great from the outside, is so far holding, and although not lined looks much neater than expected inside.

The Finished Result - copyright Lauren John

I thought after the frustration it might've put me off, but I would try and make another purse or 2, just this time I think I'd use a clasp with hole in so I could sew rather than stick the fabric to it. If you want to try something different, I would reccommend a project like this, just make sure you have good instructions and patience. Sometimes a good craft project is one you learn from though.