Good News Everyone!

 

Emily from The Boy Trifecta has the tutorial up for her winning bag during the Purse Week contest here.  She has renamed it The Grandview Bag.  Click here for part one, and here for part two.  Thank you for letting us all in on how to make this, Emily!  It is such a great bag!

Don’t know where to get the fabric she used?  Above All Fabrics, one of the sponsors during Purse Week, sells velveteen here.   So now you are all set to make your own Grandview Bag. 

Thanks for sharing your talents with us, Emily!  And thanks for selling great fabric, Melanie:).

Purse Week Winners!

 

Our first place winner: 

Anthropologie Inspired Bag by Emily of the blog The Boy Trifecta.  (And good news everyone—she’s working on a tutorial for it!)

 

Our Second Place Winner:

Falling Bag, by Heather of the blog Simple Analogy.

   

Our Third Place Winner is:

Ellie, by Senja of the blog I Heart Idamku Handmade.

 

Congratulations ladies!  Your purses are beautiful!  Please let me know your email address so I can put you in contact with our wonderful sponsors for your prizes! 

Thanks to all who entered and spread the word! 

And a special thank you to our guest bloggers, judges, and sponsors for making Purse Week so much fun!  

I’m going to take a break this weekend, and gear up for Craft With Your Kids Week next week:).

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Top 10 Purse Entries: Get Your Votes In!

Updated:  Voting has closed.  Thank you!

Seriously, there were some awesome purses in the flickr pool.  Make sure to check them all out!  Thank you for everyone who participated!  You people are amazing.  Thanks to Sachiko from Tea Rose Home, Abby from Sew Much Ado, and Disney from Ruffles and Stuff, we got it narrowed down to just 10—man that was hard!   

Voting poll is on the right in the sidebar—you just have to scroll under the BlogHer ad. 

Remember that I would love if you are a finalist to post about voting, but please, just let them vote for their favorites and don’t make this a popularity thing:).  I think the best purse really deserves to win!

So, in no particular order, here are our favorites.  They are so lovely!  I love them all!  Be sure to click on the purse name to be able to view the other pictures they provided in flickr.

Voting ends Friday, October 15th, at 11:59 AM.  Winners announced Friday afternoon.

(PLEASE NOTE:  The first two bags are very similar in name—make sure you are voting for the one you like better!)

 

Falling Bag:

 

Fall Bag:

 

 

 Anthropologie inspired bag:

 

 

Penny’s Hobo:

 

Pleated Handbag:

 

Grey Clutch:

 

Chloe bag:

 

Miss Maven Ruffled Handbag:

 

Ellie: 

 

 

Bowling Bag:

Purse Week Guest Tutorial: I Am Momma – Hear Me Roar

Today we are lucky people.  Cheri from I Am Momma – Hear Me Roar is here with an adorable clutch.  Her blog is so great—it seems her posts always interest me, and she has such a variety of topics as well.  From hair week, sewing, home decorating tips, etc., her blog is a definite favorite of mine.

I’ve met Cheri a couple times now.  She’s great.  I can’t say enough good things about her.  She is one of the most creative people I know.  And so kind—and if you read her blog you’ll find she has a great sense of humor as well. 

I’m trying out her upcycled hats this week. 

And her craft room, playroom, and family room?  All are even better in real life.  I  feel pretty lucky to even know that:). 

 

Let’s see what she has for us today, shall we?________________________________________________________________________

Hello Lemon Squeezy Ladies (and gentlemen).  I'm Cheri from I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar and I'm very happy to be here today.  I love Christie and her blog.  She is thoughtful, sincere, dedicated, and talented - which is probably why you are here.  Me too. 

Today I'm going to show you how to make this.  I'm calling it my Dainty Leather Clutch.  It's actually pretty easy to make, so let's get to it.

I will explain the process, but I won't give exact measurements because it all depends on how large you want your clutch to be.  I started with a large rectangle of leather.  I cut it to be the width I wanted the clutch to be.

Okay, let's take a time out here.  You might be thinking...where do I even get leather Cheri?  I got mine at Tandy Leather Factory.  When I went there I picked the man's brain (probably annoyed him as well) and learned a lot about leather.  You don't buy it by the yard.  You buy pieces of it and the price varies a lot.  I bought a huge piece of this light blue leather.  It was on clearance for $30, but I have used it for about ten different projects already.  You can buy harder or softer leather.  Mine is kind of hard, but it's quite thin.

I took my rectangle and folded up the bottom so that it was about the size I wanted the clutch to be.  I wanted my clutch to be angled in rather than just a plain rectangle, so I started from the bottom corner and cut in about an inch as I came up to the top.  The white line represents where the leather was before and the dotted line is where I cut it.  Don't cut the flap at the same angle.  Just cut it at a ninety degree angle or wait to cut it.

Next I wanted the flap to be circular so I found a bowl the right size, traced the line onto the leather, and cut it.

Next I made the scalloped edge.  I took another piece of leather and cut that same half circle shape.  Then I created one scallop the size I wanted it to be and used it to trace over and over until I had the whole piece drawn out.  I cut the edging out.  This is the most time consuming part.

I wanted the flap to be lined purely for cuteness.  I didn't line the whole pouch.  I used the flap itself to trace the exact line onto the fabric.  I left a little extra fabric at the bottom (along the straight edge) so I could fold it over and have a clean edge.  I didn't worry about the rounded part since I knew the scalloped edging would cover it.

I sewed up the sides of the clutch and then I sewed on the flap lining.

I sewed the edging over the top of the lining. 

I sewed these two lines carefully so they would be parallel.  I chose red thread as a fun contrast.  I also chose to use the gray side of the leather for the outside scallop, to give the clutch a little more interest.

Lastly, I sewed on strips of velcro vertically so that the clutch will close well when it's really packed and when it's pretty empty.

I added a large red button to cover the seams from the velcro on the front flap and because I thought it was adorable.  I love big buttons.

A couple quick notes for you if you want to make this.  Don't be afraid of leather.  It's actually really fun to work with.  Your sewing machine will sew through it.  Technically you should buy a leather needle for your machine, which is a bit thicker.  You can use your rotary cutter to cut the leather, but it will obviously cause your blade to dull more quickly.  If you're really up for a project you can also check out my leather laced purse tutorial. 

Thanks for having me, Christie.  All of you are welcome at my place anytime.  Have a fantastic day!

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I love it.  I love the colors, the scalloped edge, the red houndstooth inside, the huge red button—it’s all great!  And doesn’t seem very time consuming! 

Thanks so much, Cheri! 

Attention All Purse Week Contestants: Read This!

Wow!  I am amazed at your talent!  Seriously, it has blown me away how many great purses there are!  Luckily, most of the judging isn’t going to be done by me, ha ha!  I might throw in 1-2 opinions about who should make the top 10, but other than that, I’m leaving it in the hands of the capable judges! 

***This is important!***  I’ve emailed probably 15ish people letting them know that they are not meeting the date requirements for the purse entries.  In the rules, it has been stated that your purse has to be made after JULY 1st, 2010.  If you look on flickr, you can see the date your picture was taken on, and with what kind of camera in the upper right hand corner.  Like this:

See how I’ve circled the date—it says “this photo was taken on September 21, 2010.”

Some have emailed me back and have said their camera settings were wrong.  That is fine.  I believe you.  I hope that this doesn’t let everyone think that it’s ok to say that if it isn’t true, though.  Please be honest!  At the end of the day, it comes down to you and no one will really know.  Just do the right thing, mmmkay? 

No matter what though, if your date is not after July 1st, 2010, to still be considered for the contest, you must either fix the settings on your camera and re-take the pictures, OR explain yourself in your pictures why the date is off. Simple.  Easy.  But you need to do it or else the judges will pass by your entry and it won’t be considered.  I’ve got to stick with the rules so everyone is happy!

ALSO, you may only upload 1-3 photos, per purse.  If you have more, please go and remove them! 

I hope I don’t sound rude, because that’s not the tone in my head.  It’s just a reminder because I want everyone to have a chance and not be passed by because of the date or too many photos. 

Again, you guys amaze me.  Thank you for being involved in the contest!

Purse Week Guest Tutorial: Noodlehead

I’m so excited that Anna from Noodlehead is gracing us with her presence today.  Doesn’t she make the most amazing things?!  Her tutorials are absolutely fabulous, and she is such a nice gal.  One I’d love to meet in real life (well, I’d love to meet all of my guest bloggers, for that matter). 

Now, I know that MANY of you are familiar with her gathered clutch tutorial (I’ve seen quite a few entered into the contest):

Or what about her adorable car pillow tutorial?

 

Whatever it is you are looking at on her blog, you’ll enjoy.  I just really love her style.  Here she is!

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Hi Lemon Squeezers!  I'm super excited to be here during Christie's Purse Contest Week with a fun tutorial for you all.  I've made tons of these little zippered pouches and I think they're so useful and can be personalized in so many ways.  Plus, they're super handy when it comes to organizing your purse (or at least make you look like you have an organized purse).

I know there are a ton of other zipper pouch type tutorials out there, but I thought it would be fun to share how I make mine.

Materials needed:

• fat quarter or 1/4 yard linen (or any solid fabric would look great, or for that matter just use what you love)
• fat quarter of 1/4 yard of lining fabric
• small scraps varying heights by 5" long
• scraps of cotton quilt batting (or you could also use fusible fleece)
• 8" zipper (or longer, just follow instructions on the package to shorten any zipper)
• thread

{1/4" seam allowance throughout unless otherwise noted}

Cutting the pieces:

From the linen cut: one piece for the back 9.5" wide by 8" tall, and two pieces for front side panels 2.75" wide by 8" tall

two pieces of lining 9.5" wide by 8" tall

two pieces batting 9.5" wide by 8" tall

Assembling the front:

Sew scraps RIGHT sides together until you have a pieced fabric measuring 5" wide by 8" tall.  Press seams to one side. 

Next, you'll sew each of the side panels RIGHT sides together to each side of the scrap panel, press towards sides.

Add any quilting details (optional):

Here's where you can add some fun quilting details.  You certainly don't have to and most of the time I don't do this step, but it can add a lot of interest to your pouch. 

Layer the front piece you just created WRONG side facing down on top of one piece of batting and quilt away!  On the examples I've shown I've sewn a straight line down one side of each scrap panel seam.

Assembling the pouch:

Place exterior RIGHT side up, put the zipper face down with the pull tab at the left.  Place lining piece RIGHT side down on top of that.

Pin and sew using your zipper foot. 

Flip those fabrics WRONG sides together to get them out of the way. 

Next, lay the remaining exterior piece RIGHT side up, align the zipper with the top edge zipper face down with pull tab at the right this time.  Place lining piece RIGHT side down on top. Pin and sew. 

Flip fabrics WRONG sides together on both sides of the zipper.  Press. 

Switching back to your regular sewing foot, top stitch next to the zipper on each side. 

Now flip fabrics around so that the exteriors are facing RIGHT sides together and linings are facing RIGHT sides together with the zipper in the middle (you won't be able to see the zipper, just know that it's there).  Pin and sew around the whole perimeter using a 1/2" seam allowance and leaving a 3 to 4" opening in the lining for turning.

You could be finished at this point, but we'll take it a step further and box the corners so this baby can stand up on it's own!

Boxing the corners:

Put your hand in through the opening of the lining and pinch the exterior fabrics corners together aligning the seam. 

Finger press the seams open and with a ruler mark a line perpendicular to the seam 1.25" from the tip of the corner. 

Mark the line with a water soluble pen and sew along that line. 

Clip corner leaving a 1/2" seam allowance.  Repeat for other exterior corner and both lining corners.

Finish:

Turn pouch right side out through opening in lining.

Sew the opening in the lining shut with a very small seam allowance or hand sew, it's up to you.  Push the lining into the pouch and you're done!  Fill with whatever goodies you need, zip shut, and stash it in your purse.

Terms of use: For personal use only please.

Thanks for having me over Christie!

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These are so cute!  Don’t you just love that owl!  The camera?  Ok--all of them?  Adorable.  Thanks so much for sharing your talents with us today, Anna!

The Pleated Pouch Tutorial with Pattern

I know, the name has been taken about 500 times over, but seriously, this is all I could come up with (and before I searched and found a million others called the same thing, mind you!).

Don’t let the pleats scare you (or the length of the tutorial—I just included a LOT of pictures to explain things clearly).  The cutting takes more time than the actual sewing does, in most cases!

Let’s get started!

First, print and cut out these four patterns:  one, two, three, four.  Round off the corners if you desire with the circle on the pattern.  I did on my pouch, but you can leave it so it has sharper corners if you’d like.  **The pattern for the pocket is small—you might want to make it bigger.  I think I will next time.  As it is, it fits a standard size credit card, but two pockets side by side might be nicer.**

What You’ll Need:

fabric for outer

fabric for lining and band

20” piping, cut into two 10” pieces

9” zipper

interfacing

(all seams are 1/4”)

Cut out your fabric and interfacing according to the pattern pieces you printed off. 

Take one of your band pieces and line up the raw edge of the piping.  If you are unfamiliar on how to sew on piping, I found a helpful tutorial here on The Cottage Home. I won’t go into as many details here, so if unsure, click on over there!

You’ll want to stitch just to the left of the stitching already on the piping. 

Next line up the band with the 10” edge of one of the outer pieces of fabric, like this.

Pin, and stitch even further to the left of what you stitched above on the band and piping part alone.

Press the seam down towards the body of the purse.   

You can topstitch at this point.  I think I actually prefer it not topstitched (which is why I left the opposite side without it).  

Repeat previous steps with the other band and piping.  Pin and sew the band onto the other outer piece.

On the pattern piece with the pleats, instead of marking the pleat placement, I just cut tiny slits where the lines were for the pleats.  You can see them here:   

Now take the fabric to be pleated, and mark a line 1” from the side, as follows.

So when you sew your pleats, since the bag has an angular edge, try and keep the fabric even when folding down.  Like this:

NOT like this:

You can see that since it is angled, the pleats don’t match up on the ends.  That is ok!  Just backstitch at the beginning and end of each pleat—ending the pleat at the 1” line you marked.  

After sewing the three pleats on one side, press down and stitch along the edge to hold them in place.  Repeat for the pleats on the other side of the fabric. 

Iron on your interfacing pieces.  The pocket interfacing just goes on half the pocket piece.

To make the optional pocket, fold it in half, right sides together.  Leave a 2-3” opening to turn.  Clip corners and turn.

Topstitch one of the edges for the top of the pocket, then pin it onto the right side of the lining and topstitch around all but the top.

 

Almost done!  Time for the zipper.  Lay one of the lining pieces, right side up.  Then the zipper, right side up.  Lay one of the outer pieces, right side down over that.  Pin, and using a zipper foot, sew the 3 layers together.  See next 5 pictures. 

   

Now flip over the outer piece, then flip the lining under the outer piece.  Topstitch close to the zipper teeth.  (Next 4 pictures)    

Now repeat those steps with the remaining lining and outer pieces.  The next 4 pictures show how to lay your pieces of fabric.   Don’t forget to topstitch as you did above once the outer and lining are sewed to the zipper.    

Now take the two outer pieces of fabric, right sides together.  Flip them to the side and place the lining pieces right sides together.  

Sew lining pieces together, leaving a 4” gap at the bottom for turning.  Make sure not to catch the zipper when sewing the lining pieces.  Just sew to the zipper, otherwise the corners of the bag look wrong when finished. 

Before sewing the outer pieces together, unzip the zipper a bit.

And although I took a million pictures of the rest of the steps, I forgot to take a picture of the next couple! 

Sew the outer pieces right sides together, like you did with the lining.  Pull the purse through the lining, then sew the gap in the lining closed.  Tuck in the lining, iron the pleats down, and you are finished!

       

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Some things to remember:

Enter for a chance to win $25.00 store credit for my shop at Blessed Little Nest.

A Lemon Squeezy Home readers receive a 15% off discount all week long at Above All Fabric by entering the code LEMON at checkout.

Link up to your purses!  It will help everyone gain some inspiration for future purses they might make!

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Linking to some of these great parties!