Hello my lovelies!
If you're in the need for a quick sewing fix, I've got one for you right here:
This is a nifty little make that's really simple to put together. You can easily change the materials and the button & elastic to make it unique to you, and all you need is basic sewing stuff and an iron.
I found the original post on Craftster. The instructions are really clear and straightforward, but you can see how different my little purse turned out to the original poster's!
Anyway, here's how I made mine:
I cut out a template from cardboard I had lying around, using the dimensions mentioned on the website (23.5cm x 13cm) and drew the curves on by eye. I chose silky blue material & dotty white cotton as they complimented each other well (and I had just got them that day & was impatient to use them).
I used dressmakers chalk to draw around my template, however I did leave a one inch gap between my chalk lines and the template. Seam allowances are now very, very important to me (there will be a blog post in the future as to why).
Then I pinned it all together, adding in the elastic/ribbon hybrid I created. Yes, I am a mad scientist gone over to the dark side of crafts,
I was going to use ribbon, as I didn't think I had a spare elastic, but searching though the ribbon bag I found a piece of pink elastic. Being me though, I thought it looked a little boring just being one colour and all. So I twisted the thinnest ribbon I could find (the silver one) around the elastic & trimmed them both to size.
I had to use a safety pin to make sure they stayed together & didn't unravel before I could sew it into place. But that worked just fine, so all is good.
I then sewed all around the outside, leaving only a little gap to pull the material through. I made sure I'd sewed into the elastic/ribbon hybrid really well so it stayed in place properly.
I then pressed it all very firmly & was just about to start top-stitching when I realised I hadn't pulled the material through properly. That's why it looks like an oval. I'm an idiot. Oh, and it's here that I did my first cheat: fusible hemming. I hate having that little hole in the side stitched up over the seam, so I put fusible hemming material between the two materials and press it. It's a cheat, but it's neat!
I pushed the corners out & did the top-stitching. Without a machine, this is the part that took the longest. It doesn't matter if the stitches you do to hold the thing together are a bit messy - mine tend to be because I'm paranoid that it will fall apart if I don't repeat stitches over each other. Top-stitching, however, needs to be neat. And on something like this, needs to be neat on BOTH sides. BOTH!! Insane, right? Easy with a sewing machine - lots of practice and patience needed to hand-stitch (if you're me, anyway).
You may be some kind of incredibly dexterous octopus or something, I don't know! Octopuses might be crafty, I wouldn't know as I've never met one... but I guess it would be difficult to craft underwater...
Anyway, the rest of us find it difficult to make every stitch overly neat. Here is my attempt:
I am glad I found my shiny, metallic thread. It's horrible to work with, but looks really cool if used on the right projects.
Anyway, it was then folded up backwards (blue sides together, leaving the top flap free) & sewn down the sides before turning right-way out and pressing. I don't know about you, but I find it very difficult to imagine what things are going to look like before they're turned right-way round. It's always like magic when all my tatty hand-stitching is cunning concealed & the lovely side of the material is suddenly on show. Just me? Oh well. That's when I just have to trust the instructions & blindly follow.
One thing I definitely know from other projects, though, is that pressing is essential. And a press-cloth is incredibly useful if you're working with materials like these (not so much the cotton, but any shinies). PRESS EVERYTHING!!
Once I'd finished my stitching and pressing, I picked a button that would fit the elastic/ribbon hybrid loop & stitched it on. In hindsight, I probably would have wanted to either use a curved needle, or sewn the button on when the stitches could still be hidden between the two layers of fabic; just to give it a more professional finish. But hey, you live and learn.
And there you have it. A few cheats and a lot of stabbing myself in the hand later, a coin purse has been created:
Well, not quite finished... I would like to add some embellishment to make it look even purdier, but I can't think what to add. If you have any suggestions, add them to the comments & whichever strikes me as the best (whilst still being plausible), I will add to this little purse.
Live long and prosper :)
If you're in the need for a quick sewing fix, I've got one for you right here:
 |
| Hand-stitched in an afternoon whilst watching Orange is the New Black |
This is a nifty little make that's really simple to put together. You can easily change the materials and the button & elastic to make it unique to you, and all you need is basic sewing stuff and an iron.
I found the original post on Craftster. The instructions are really clear and straightforward, but you can see how different my little purse turned out to the original poster's!
Anyway, here's how I made mine:
 |
| Starting materials |
I used dressmakers chalk to draw around my template, however I did leave a one inch gap between my chalk lines and the template. Seam allowances are now very, very important to me (there will be a blog post in the future as to why).
Then I pinned it all together, adding in the elastic/ribbon hybrid I created. Yes, I am a mad scientist gone over to the dark side of crafts,
 |
| Pin it all together |
 |
| Elastic/ribbon hybrid... of dooooom! |
I had to use a safety pin to make sure they stayed together & didn't unravel before I could sew it into place. But that worked just fine, so all is good.
I then sewed all around the outside, leaving only a little gap to pull the material through. I made sure I'd sewed into the elastic/ribbon hybrid really well so it stayed in place properly.
I then pressed it all very firmly & was just about to start top-stitching when I realised I hadn't pulled the material through properly. That's why it looks like an oval. I'm an idiot. Oh, and it's here that I did my first cheat: fusible hemming. I hate having that little hole in the side stitched up over the seam, so I put fusible hemming material between the two materials and press it. It's a cheat, but it's neat!
I pushed the corners out & did the top-stitching. Without a machine, this is the part that took the longest. It doesn't matter if the stitches you do to hold the thing together are a bit messy - mine tend to be because I'm paranoid that it will fall apart if I don't repeat stitches over each other. Top-stitching, however, needs to be neat. And on something like this, needs to be neat on BOTH sides. BOTH!! Insane, right? Easy with a sewing machine - lots of practice and patience needed to hand-stitch (if you're me, anyway).
You may be some kind of incredibly dexterous octopus or something, I don't know! Octopuses might be crafty, I wouldn't know as I've never met one... but I guess it would be difficult to craft underwater...
Anyway, the rest of us find it difficult to make every stitch overly neat. Here is my attempt:
 |
| Shiny top-stitching |
 |
| Close-up top-stitching! |
I am glad I found my shiny, metallic thread. It's horrible to work with, but looks really cool if used on the right projects.
Anyway, it was then folded up backwards (blue sides together, leaving the top flap free) & sewn down the sides before turning right-way out and pressing. I don't know about you, but I find it very difficult to imagine what things are going to look like before they're turned right-way round. It's always like magic when all my tatty hand-stitching is cunning concealed & the lovely side of the material is suddenly on show. Just me? Oh well. That's when I just have to trust the instructions & blindly follow.
One thing I definitely know from other projects, though, is that pressing is essential. And a press-cloth is incredibly useful if you're working with materials like these (not so much the cotton, but any shinies). PRESS EVERYTHING!!
Once I'd finished my stitching and pressing, I picked a button that would fit the elastic/ribbon hybrid loop & stitched it on. In hindsight, I probably would have wanted to either use a curved needle, or sewn the button on when the stitches could still be hidden between the two layers of fabic; just to give it a more professional finish. But hey, you live and learn.
 |
| Shiny! |
And there you have it. A few cheats and a lot of stabbing myself in the hand later, a coin purse has been created:
 |
| Button! |
 |
| Finished product |
Live long and prosper :)
embroidery is always a fun way to decorate, like a favourite sentence from a movie/series, or with fabric paint :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! Got any favourite quotes in mind? :)
Delete