Make your own handbag, clutch bag & purse

Make your own handbag, clutch bag & purse.

Emma Castle

A full-colour, step by step, photographic guide.

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Make your own handbag, clutch bag and purse.

Emma Castle

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Copyright © 2009 Emma Castle All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of How2crafts and Morse-Brown Publishing.

The bags detailed in this book are for personal use only and are not to be duplicated for commercial resale.

Published by Morse-Brown Publishing Series Editor: John Morse-Brown Photography © Morse-Brown Design Limited Design & Production: Morse-Brown Design Limited.  www.morsebrowndesign.co.uk For more titles in this series, see  www.how2crafts.com ISBN: 978-0-9550241-6-0 Notice of Liability. The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the author Emma Castle, How2crafts, Morse-Brown Publishing, their employees or associates shall not have any liability to any person or entity with respect to liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the products described herein.

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This is more than just a book...

This is the start of a conversation about making handbags. By buying this book, you’ve joined that conversation, and we’d love to hear from you...

In this book you’ll find photographic step-bystep instructions that will enable you to make a stunning handbag, clutch bag and purse.

But unlike most craft books you buy, it doesn’t stop there. Once you’ve had a go at making the bags yourself, you can upload and share photos of your bags, and any comments and ideas, onto our website at  how2crafts.com. Then, once we’ve come to the end of the print run for this book, we’ll select the best photos and comments and include them in the new edition

of the book as a ‘reader’s appendix’ – a source of inspiration and alternative designs for future readers.

As we’ve said on the how2crafts website, we believe crafts are all about conversation – the passing of skills and techniques from person to person down the ages. And we’d like our books to be part of that conversation. So it’s only right that our books should change as the conversation progresses.

To join in the conversation visit  www.how2crafts.com Talk to us at  twitter.com/how2crafts 1

Welcome to handbag heaven Perhaps you’ve seen a bag at a craft fair and wondered if you could make one like it, or maybe you just love handbags, and like making things, and this book looked like a perfect way of combining your pleasures. Whatever your background, whether you have oodles of experience with fabrics or none at all, you’ll have great fun making the bags described in this book.

I’ve arranged the book in three parts, starting with the simplest project first (the Sienna purse).

But feel free to start with whatever bag takes your fancy – I’ve tried to make sure that the

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instructions are complete for each bag and you shouldn’t need to refer to any of the other sections if you’re just making one of the bags.

There are a few ground rules and important bits of information regarding working with fabric which we’ve outlined in the first few pages of this book, along with a section on choosing your fabrics. If you know what you’re doing feel free to skip these pages and get straight in to the business of making the bags.

Happy handbags!

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The ‘right’ & ‘wrong’ sides of fabric If you’ve not worked with fabric before, you may not realise that fabric has a ‘right’ and a wrong’ side. The ‘right’ side of a printed patterned fabric is determined by the intensity of the printed pattern - the more intense side being the ‘right’ side. The underside, or faint side, is the ‘wrong’ side of the fabric.

But it’s not always that simple. Most plain cotton fabrics do not have a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ side and can be difficult to differentiate when they do. In these cases, if you’re using interfacing, the ‘wrong’ side of the fabric is the side with the interfacing attached, and the ‘right’ side is the other side without the interfacing.

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Topstitching Topstitching is a method of creating a decorative stitch on the ‘right’ side of the fabric, usually on seams or near a hem. Apart from being decorative it can also help to keep seams down and the fabric flat. As it is on the ‘right’ side of the fabric it is 100% visible on your project so take your time and make sure that the distance away from the seam or hem is equal along the length of the stitch. You can do this by using your machine foot edge as a guide to show you how far you are from the edge of the fabric.

Any seam or hem that you wish to topstitch must be pressed flat beforehand – this makes the stitching neater and much easier. Practise your topstitch on a scrap piece of the same fabric you are using and make the stitch a little larger than you would use to sew seams together.

Interfacing Interfacing is most commonly used to keep areas of fabric crisp, even after repeated washes, but can also be used to reinforce your fabric and even prevent your fabric from fraying.

Interfacing can be bought in many weights and in two different types; iron-on (fusible) or sew-in.

Usually you can buy light, standard, medium and heavy weight interfacing; which weight you choose will depend entirely on your choice of fabric and the style of your bag or purse.

Iron-on interfacing is quick and easy to use and a strong favourite of mine. I would recommend a standard or medium weight interfacing for standard or medium weight fabric. If you are making a bag from a heavy weight fabric you

probably would only need to add interfacing to the handles. Alternatively if the fabric you are using easily frays but doesn’t need interfacing for strength you could use a light weight interfacing to prevent the fraying.

Always test your interfacing on a scrap piece of fabric first as not all fabrics are suitable for ironon interfacing. I would also recommend that you iron the interfacing to your fabric using the manufacturers guidelines, and to ensure a secure bond between your interfacing and your fabric, iron your interfacing to the wrong side of your fabric, then turn over and iron the right side.

Interfacing can be bought from most haberdashery stores or department stores as well as online.

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Ironing & pressing Ironing is used to get creases out of fabric or garments and involves a back and forth sliding motion with your iron, while putting pressure on the iron.

Pressing is like footsteps – you hold the iron in one place for a few seconds without applying pressure, then lift it up and put it down further on, again holding it in place for a few seconds, repeating at intervals along your fabric.

The difference between the two is that if you iron your seams open, the fabric will stretch and

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your seams will become distorted (which can make it difficult to topstitch). Pressing on the other hand will not distort your seams.

Pressing works best when you apply the correct heat setting and/or steam. See your iron’s instructions for details.

One other point – it’s best not to use steam whilst pressing your interfacing onto your fabric as it can cause the interfacing to shrink and/or not adhere properly.

The loop turner Loop turners are probably one of the best timesaving tools ever invented! They are specifically designed for turning fabric tubes outside-in after being sewn together. They are made from metal – at one end there is a large circular hoop and at the other end there is a latch hook. The circular hoop is for hooking your finger through to pull through the tube of fabric and the latch hook at the other end is for attaching to your fabric.

through the tube by pulling the circular hoop, guiding the fabric as necessary. Once pulled through, un-hook the latch and straighten out your fabric.

Loop turners can be bought from haberdashery stores, department stores and are also available to buy online.

See picture on page 61.

Feed the hook end of your loop turner through your fabric tube and attach the latch hook to the end of your fabric. Pull your loop turner back

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Choosing your fabric For the projects in this book I would recommend using medium to heavy weight fabrics. Cottons are always good for making bags as they can be washed at a low temperature in a washing machine if required.

Teamed with good interfacing, medium to heavy weight fabrics will be more durable and keep their shape better than lighter weight fabrics.

There is a vast selection of fabrics to buy in both stores and online and sometimes the choice can be overwhelming. I am a huge fan of  www.etsy.com which is an online marketplace where you can buy and sell items

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Fabric key 1. Alexander Henry: Camouflage Girls 2. Alexander Henry: Urban Jungle 3. IKEA Designs: Gunilla Multi 4. Alexander Henry: Bijoux 5. Michael Miller: Brady Blossoms 6. Robert Kaufman: Brown Leaf 7. Globaltex: Spotty 8. Erin Michael: Loft 1800 9. Alexander Henry: Fashionista Girls 10. Michael Miller: Marseille 11: Joel Dewberry: Sparrows 12: Robert Kaufman: Green Leaf 13: Moda: Friends, Blue 14. Robert Kaufman: Carnaby Street 2 15. Amy Butler: Lotus 16. Robert Kaufman: Carnaby Street

that are handmade, as well as vintage goods and crafting supplies. You can buy the most scrumptious fabrics at very reasonable prices.

And because it’s a website for crafters, you can often buy as much or as little as you like rather than having to buy minimum quantities.

Try coordinating or contrasting fabrics together and have fun experimenting with different patterns and colours.

Opposite, just to whet your appetite, I’ve shown a selection of fabrics I’ve bought over the years.

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1. The Sienna Purse Getting started To make the Sienna purse you will need: Materials • 25cm x 25cm of your chosen plain fabric • 25cm x 25cm of your chosen patterned fabric • 25cm x 25cm of your chosen lining fabric • 4cm width strip of fabric for panel strips (approx 92cm in length) • Standard-weight iron-on interfacing (approx 25cm) • 18cm closed end zip Equipment • Sewing machine • Iron • Ironing board

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Dress-making pins Tape measure Scissors Thread (to coordinate with your fabric)

Fabrics & findings These are the fabrics I have used for the purse featured here.

• A my Butler: Belle in orange (available from  www.amybutlerdesign.com) • Plain sage-green cotton (I got mine in the UK from the John Lewis haberdashery dept) • P lain orange cotton (John Lewis) • T wo tone satin mix in burnt orange (John Lewis) • S tandard weight iron on interfacing (John Lewis) (not shown) • 1 8cm closed end zip (John Lewis)

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