More Small Handbags

The kids went through my fabric stash and chose some material for me to use making small handbags. I'm pleased with the results and am having a blast making purses. How many handbags can one person own before being called extravagant?

One piece of fabric was a grass-like print that varied from cool blues and greens to reds and oranges. My oldest two girls liked the orange.
But I preferred the green/blue colors.
This is a medium blue/teal with fine black linear print. Unfortunately, the photo doesn't show the fabric at its best.



With some of the left over fabric, I was able to make two CD holders for stocking stuffers for two of the kids at Christmas.

Cute Handbag

I recently found this blog which provides a pattern for this really cute bag. The bag only uses about 1/2 a yard of fabric or 2 fat quarters, a small amount of interfacing, and 1 magnetic snap. This is the first time I've used magnetic snaps and I will definitely be using them in the future. The bag went together easily in about 1 hour, with interruptions from my kids. After seeing the result, my girls went through our fabric stash and requested bags from this pattern.

Handbag and Hairbands

We had a rainy morning, so I was able to knock out a couple of simple easy projects. The first is a quilted handbag with an outside velcro-closure pocket and an inner pocket. The main opening of the bag is also closed with velcro. My daughter loves skeletons (who knows why?) which is the inspiration of this skeleton bag.


The second projects were a couple of reversible headbands. The photo isn't particularly good and my models are off riding bikes, so I'll post a better picture later. The tutorial for this project was found here on the blog The Long Thread. The blog features a number of great projects and many tutorials.

More Hand Bags

This afternoon, I was able to spend some more time in my sewing room (okay it's actually a desk in the school room, but school is out for the summer) and was able to complete a couple of projects.
The first hand bag is lined with the coordinating dotted fabric and has an interfacing for stability.


The second bag is made from one of my favorite fabrics. The lining is a coppery-brown, which worked for a lining, but not for contrasting straps and flaps.

Spring Bag and iPod holder

While the kids were in the pool this afternoon, I managed to make a new spring purse and matching iPod holder. The two projects were my own design. The lining of the purse is the same as the flap. The fabric was purchased at Hobby Lobby. I used interfacing to give the bag more structure and shape. A faux-pearl snap was used to close the flap.

The iPod holder is reversible and has both fabrics that were used for the bag. Both projects were fairly easy. The bag took about 45 minutes; the iPod holder took about 20 minutes, including the hand stitching that was done to close the holder at the top. My 17-year old daughter is already asking if she can purchase them from me or maybe get them as a present.

Summer Handbag

My kids are selling their items from the Entrepreneur class at flea markets and craft shows throughout the summer. My two oldest daughters are making a variety of knitted items for the booths as well. Mike suggested that I make a few items to sell also, because I'm desperately trying to use up fabric scraps that are "too good to throw away." After our school day was complete, the afternoon was spent making items to sell. This handbag was one of the items I made. It's fully lined with two inner pockets. The plan was to use a zipper closure, but I didn't have a large enough zipper in a coordinating color. Instead, a flap was made for a button closure.

It's so much fun to design a pattern and make changes when working on a project. I love this fabric and am thrilled with how well the bag came together. This may end up in my closet instead of in the craft booth!

Knitted Handbag

My daughter Amy is a great knitter and kindly made me this bag. She used a cotton/polyester blend yarn for easy wash ability. I'm ashamed to admit that she made the bag for me last summer, but told me that I needed to sew on the button. The buttons were purchased and then misplaced. When buttons were found, the bag was misplaced. I recently located both buttons and handbag, so the bag is finally ready to be used.

Handbags

Years ago when I owned a ton of shoes, I purchased many handbags to coordinate with my outfits. I was unmarried back then and had money to spend on personal items. Since the children were born, there isn't a lot of money to spend on purses and shoes. I no longer have different bags and shoes for particular items of clothing. A good black leather bag sees me through the winter; a straw bag or light colored leather bag is for summer use.

Last year, I purchased a new banana colored bag. It wasn't an inexpensive bag, nor was it top of the line. Three weeks after purchase, the handle began to fall apart. At the end of 2 months the purse was tossed into the trash. Spring is approaching (hopefully) and I need a new purse. Instead of dropping a lot of on junk, I decided to make my own. Mike brought home some upholstery fabric samples and I tried designing my own.

This is a clutch bag for when I got out without the children and need to carry their stuff.

This will be an everyday handbag. It is a nice roomy size and has a full zipper on the top. Later this week, I will be making a matching change purse and wallet out of the same fabric. Both purses are lined with a floral fabric.