A place-mat purse is an easy, inexpensive gift that you can make even if you have little or no sewing experience. A fellow blogger read this tutorial and made a similar purse without using her machine. Click here to see her great purse!

Step one- get a place-mat

Step two- fold the place mat right sides together and sew up the sides as close to the edge as you can, as a side note, start sewing at the opening of the place mat so you are sure it is lined up correctly

both sides sewn together

Third step- fold the bottom part of each side of the place-mat into a triangle, measure and mark each side. I usually make the triangle about 2 inches long

then sew across the triangle

Check both side to make sure they are the same size.

Admire your work so far…

I hope this picture helps show the triangle part a little better.

Time to attach the handles, I purchased these at JoAnn’s.

I use quilt binding to attach the handles. It is pretty strong and doesn’t fray.

Cut four pieces of binding the same length. Attach each piece to the loop on the handle.

Then attach the handles to the purse. Measure the purse so that the handles line up. Most place-mats have a seam that runs right along the edge of the mat. This a great place to sew your handle on because the stitching for the handle blends in.

I then tack the bottom part of the binding on the purse for more strength.

All done, your purse is ready to go shopping!

This makes a great gift, and to make it even more special, fill the purse with a book or some pretty cards. Or even better… coupons!

Here are some more of the place-mat purses…

This one was hand sewn by a friend. She used decorative ribbon to attach the handles.

This one looks a little lopsided because I have stuff in it.

You can add a special touch to your purse by slipping a book inside.

Find more DIY ideas at A Soft Place to Land.

Subscribe to have these articles delivered to your inbox. Want to chat? Visit my forum.