Adventures in Purse Making

To start off with, I am not a purse person. I rarely carry one with me. Small purses, clutches and wristlets are too small and the large shoulder bags are too big and bulky. I find that no matter what, I am always running into things when I have a purse. I must admit, I am quite clumsy and a purse doesn't help the situation.

Then, one day while on vacation, I found an amazing purse at this great shop called Crystal Essence. It was perfect. It was simple, pretty, not super expensive, and the right size, almost. The only problem was the length of the shoulder strap. The purse came down to my knees and the strap was nonadjustable. Since the purse was so simple in construction, I decided I could make my own.

When I got home, I had to look around to see what I could make my purse out of. Being jobless and extremely broke, I couldn't go out and buy material, especially when I did not exactly know what I was doing.

What I found:

Old sheets from college

An old ruin tee-shirt

Some spare fabric

Random buttons

I must admit, an old tee shirt is not the best fabric choice. Since the material is stretchy and curls where cut, it is extremely difficult to work with. The sheet fabric, on the other hand, was great to work with. I used the top edge for my shoulder strap since it was already in finished form.

I hand sewed the whole thing. Being without a sewing machine, it was necessary. I found it to be quite relaxing and great exercise for my aching hands. This did make it difficult for me to have my edges be perfectly straight. It did come out rather well though.

The pocket was my favorite part to construct. I love the flowered pattern. I decided to get the size perfect and sew the edges before attaching it to the purse. I was a lot easier when it came to attaching it to the purse since I did not have to worry about the size of the edges. This is also the time that I realized using straight pins greatly helps. I think that if I used straight pins throughout I would have had a much easier time.

When it comes to attaching the shoulder strap, there are many problems. I thought that I had it fastened securely, but upon use the straps started to come undone. This is where I have stopped. I tried resewing the strap on, but no matter what, it comes undone. I may have to make another purse without using the tee shirt fabric to see if that is the problem.

This project only took me a few hours to complete. I found it relaxing and entertaining. It is a great way to use scrap fabric and reduce waste. If I become good enough, I may start to sell them. My next project: A baby quilt using the small scrap pieces I have and maybe another purse. I do have a whole twin extra-long sheets worth of fabric to play with.