Fun with purses

My daughter Anne and I made a purse/tote bag this morning from the book Carefree Clothes for Girls by Junko Okawa. (Which should be named Carefree Clothes Plus Other Things…. There is also a very cute idea for a scarf in this book that I want to try.) Anne was the “sous chef” or assistant, so it only took us 2 hours from cut-out to competed project. We used old pieces of linen from my scrap stash and embellished the bag with doilies from the crafts section at Walmart. We cut two 14½ by 18 ½-inch rectangles for the bag, plus two more for lining, and 2 pieces for the handle measuring 4 by 35 inches. I added batting to the bag and handle, which the pattern did not call for. I roughly quilted the batting to the outer bag, then sewed on the doilies before sewng the sides and top together. The pattern called for leaving the handle edges raw, so that’s what we did for a very “shabby chic” look.

This afternoon I made a second bag for a gift, leaving the top with raw edges, as well as the handle. This is in purple linen, an ancient item from my stash, and new fabric for the raw-edge appliqué and lining. Turned out quite cute, don’t you think?

The “leather” tab closures are actually two pieces of Ultrasuede scraps fused together with Misty Fuse. Buttonholes are a piece of cake to make on Ultrasuede because it doesn’t ravel. Just sew a tiny rectangle the length of your button and cut out the center with a buttonhole cutter if you have one. You set the buttonhole on the tiny block of wood, then punch straight through the cloth with the very sharp cutter.

Now I’m packing class supplies for the American Quilters Society quilt show in Des Moines. Sewing machines are provided for us, so I “only” have to take fabric, thread, rulers, cutting board, rotary cutter, iron, needles, etc., etc.