Experiments in leather with the "Essential Wristlet"

Spurred on by the raging success of my first, I've made myself another "Essential Wristlet" by Dog Under My Desk - this time experimenting with some leather I had bought in a $5 scrap bag from The Fabric Store. The idea stems from this True Bias tutorial and some purses I've seen made up over on Instagram using the tutorial.

I know black leather on dark blue denim isn't "the best look" (tan leather would look better) but it's what I had on hand to play with, and I was hoping that if the purse worked out I can use it for my Sydney Frocktails clutch (which is coming up this Saturday).

The leather was very soft and didn't add much bulk to the purse, was easy to sew with and easy to turn through the lining. I curved the bottom corners (as that's what the purse in the tutorial is like) which made it easy to have nice bottom corners.

I also added in the second zipper option this time. LOVE it. I'll probably cart my phone, lip goop and train pass in here - three things I access a lot.

I found my Flamingo Purse a tad on the small side so at the advice of my sewing friend Cassiy I increased the size of the purse by printing it at 150%. I also then added a bit more depth to the bottom of the purse to account for the curved corners.

I like having a card slot in my purses so thought I'd made use of my leather and add in three! They are not particularly neat (partly due to the fact that I cut my leather out with scissors which is a bit messy {need to get myself a rotary cutter and metal ruler}), but they do the trick.

And just for a bit more *bling* I added in these cute zipper pulls to the zippers that I picked up from Spotlight in Castle Hill (which is the BEST store just FYI, unlike their Bondi Junction store which is THE WORST). If you have keen eyes you'll notice my zippers are going in two different directions here - whoops! Must pay better attention next time.

I love the way this purse turned out and am already in the process of making a second...leather included!

A Pink Flamingo "Essential Wristlet"

As predicted the Genoa Tote was my gateway sewing drug to all things zippers! I'm not putting zippers in to clothes (yet) but I'm having fun making purses, bags, and cushion covers. I'm quite fond of a clutch with wrist strap. Enter "the Essential Wristlet" by Dog Under My Desk.

The outer fabric is from Spotlight - purchased for another Genoa Tote that I've cut out and not yet made up. The lining is chambray from Tessuti bought for a Sewaholic Rae Skirt that I've never finished. I had enough left over for the lining of the aforementioned Genoa Tote, but the lining of this wristlet.

I made the large size wristlet, but next time I want to increase the size by at least an inch as I carry a lot of stuff with me - mainly my Ventolin requires more space as it's awkwardly shaped. The method for inserting the zipper is quite different, so I'll have to do some maths to then figure out how long the zipper needs to be.

The purse has a pocket for your cards - I did this part twice as my first attempt was a bit sloppy looking. You can also see a little tab over the end of the zipper (on the left hand side) and some magic fandangling happens at the other end to ensure no zipper tape is in the seam allowance, thus reducing bulk.

I did have a big of trouble when it came to putting together the lining, sew in interfacing and outer fabric. Luckily I was able to ask Erin, the pattern designer, for some help - and Dave has good spatial abilities - so I got there in the end. I'm including this picture so I can look back on it for next time and remind myself how I put it all together.

I'm going to be taking this to work with me. I often have to go between buildings and don't want to carry my entire bag with me especially when I doing WHS inspections. This will be useful to put my phone, Ventolin etc in. Pretty and useful. Winning!

Sew Over It "DIY Indian Ribbon Purse"

As predicted sewing my first solo successful zipper in my Genoa Tote has unleashed the desire to sew all the zippers and purses!

About two years ago the UK based store Sew Over It released a tutorial for a DIY Indian Ribbon Purse...along with a kit that you could purchase with material bought on the store owners trip to India. In a moment of boredom at work I bought the kit...international postage be dammed! And then it sat in my cupboard for about two years because...zippers!

Hot on the heels of my Genoa Tote I got right on to making this purse. It was fun deciding how to place the ribbons, but you can see that one ribbon is much shorter than the others thus making the purse smaller than it should be. It also meant that the little leather tabs covering each end of the zip don't really show like they are supposed to. Annoying.




Things went pretty well with this zipper - I'm just disappointed that the shorter piece of ribbon has affected the way the whole purse looks. The kit combined with the postage wasn't cheap so I wish the store had checked their product properly.

 More zips to come - watch this space!

Adventures in Sewing #5 - clutch purse

With two failed dresses under my belt (or in the charity bin) plus a botched skirt remake I'm thinking I need to find a different approach to my sewing efforts.

I decided a few weeks ago to "try" and make a stretch skirt at home - enough of dresses that won't fit. The pattern is simple enough but my machine just WOULD NOT come to the party. I didn't even get anywhere near sewing the skirt - the machine just kept "eating" the fabric and doing all sorts of dodgy stitches.  I tweaked all the settings I could think of but still no luck. Best to take a deep breath and walk away I think...

I then decided to abandon stretch altogether (for now).  I'm attempting to make a circle skirt...except for it's too small even though the pattern measurement say it should fit. I'm going to keep going with it...for practice, but again it's another unwearable project. I think I will attempt to make this again and increase the pattern size by adding 1cm to each of the edges.  Hopefully that will work.

Who ever said sewing was fun needs a smack up the side of the head. 

Despite all the tears, I do want to keep sewing as I'm sure I'll get the hang of it sooner...or later.  I just think I need to take a break from clothing. I'm considering making a quilt (or is that just asking for trouble?) but I decided to make a small craft project  to start with - a clutch purse.

After days of stalking Pinterest I finally found a tutorial that didn't make my brain want to explode with instructions I couldn't quite picture in my head.

The time it takes to whip up one of these purses is hardly no time at all so I thought I could add a little bit of interest (and time) to the purse project by sewing a cute little heart onto the front of the purse. The problem with my sewing wants is that I want projects that aren't too quick to complete. Honestly who needs 100 coin purses floating around (this is why I think quilting could be good - it must take AGES to churn out a quilt).

The inside of the purse is make from some polka dot cotton remnants I have leftover from a half-made Laurel dress from a class over the weekend. The lining and the outer bag aren't sewn together on this inside bottom half so I need to think about how I can make this neater on the inside...

Don't look too closely to the handle - what a MESS! I bought a sew in purse frame as I thought it would be more sturdy and long-lasting BUT I decided to glue in the fabric before sewing. Yep. And sewing in the frame was so painful! I bruised my thumb and index finger so much that typing the next day at work was painful.

It's not perfect but it's finished and I enjoyed myself enough to give this project another go...so watch this space.

Happy sewing, Melanie xoxo