the purse

I love fabric purses and bags. They are pretty much the first things I started sewing. I found lots of really helpful tutorials in books, online in blogs and on you tube. I find that looking at different ways people create the same thing helps me to work out what style I like and which method is going to work for a particular project.

My first purse came from 'Meet me at Mike's' by Pip Lincolne. I learned how to make a clutch style purse with a magnetic clasp. (no zips... yay!)

I have given away all the purses I have made from this book, but i'll post a pic of one if I ever make one again.

Next step was learning to make lined zippered purses and pouches. I found a few helpful sets of instructions, but the one I used in the end was from Skip to my Lou She has fantastic tutorials with lots of pictures and really easy to follow instructions. (she has a degree in Art Education so she explains things like a teacher.... helpful!) I recommend it for beginners who are keen to get started but are a little afraid of zippers (like I was). The zippered purse tutorial can be found here.

There is a variation on this style also on her website called the pleated pouch tutorial. I love this one as it introduced me to making pleats, and it's a really cute design. The pattern can be downloaded from her site as a pdf. Yay!

Here are some pictures of my versions. 

I love the fabric, it's a brand called Echino.

this one I made for a friend's birthday

More purses and bags to follow!