Purses

This week I have been working on purses. I actually wanted to start on some spring dresses for the girls, but then I remembered that I promised my friend a purse.

The purse I made for my friend was made out of a place-mat. It is so easy. You don’t even need a sewing machine to make one. Having machine makes it easier, but it can be done by hand. This is also a very inexpensive gift as I shop for clearance place-mats and make the handles from ribbon, or buy them at JoAnn’s or Michaels with a coupon.

Since so many people asked how I made the tutus, I figured I would just post a picture tutorial for the purse. I hope it is easy to follow, the lighting in my room isn’t so great, but I think you will get the idea.

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.