Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Pretty little purses

Once again, in my journeys on the Purl Soho site, I spotted an absolutely gorgeous Japanese handbag. But there was no way in tarnation that I was spending $36 for the frame in their shop. So I moseyed on over to etsy, and along with the bobble frames I used for my coin purses, I found iDENTical frames for...drum roll.....$5.80. See? I am a freakin' economic genius. You gotta spend money to save money, as my BFF Samantha says ;)

Did I NEED another purse? Well, that is an entirely different question in the economics department....

Anyways, back to the crafty stuff. The frames I bought came with no instructions, so I popped back to the Purl Soho tutorial and just eyeballed a pattern, based on what they showed there. It's a wrinkly bag, so I figured exact dimensions were not critical, and that turned out to be true. Sew sew sew, and here you have it:

Aren't they cute? I used some home deco weight Joel Dewberry from his Ginseng collection that I la-la-love, happened to find on clearance at a local fabric shop, and have been waiting for the right project to put to use. I think they are perfect here.

Now, I want you all to remain impressed with my crafty prowess and all, but I have to say- these were quite easy. And super elegant. So cute dangling over the wrist just so. I highly recommend giving these a try!

For lining, I used some sweet soft Rowan shot cotton. Made use of my labels once again.



What's that inside the bags? Well, I thought it would be nice to have a coordinating wallet that fit nicely in the bags, so I whipped up a couple of those as well, incorporating a third fabric from the same line.



This was just a pattern I made up, inspired by this clutch at Keyka Lou (though not nearly as cute), smaller in size and with a full fold over.

I used a magnet snap closure for the flap (also bought on etsy here), which was an interesting experience as when I was doing my top stitching, the magnet would stick to the metal base plate by my bobbin at the most unexpected times and make my lines all wonky. Doh! How very Me of me.


As you can see, I made 2 sets- one for me and one for Samantha, who lives in Toronto :-) I am super stoked as I am heading out to T.O. for the weekend with my hubby. He has a conference and it is our anniversary so I am tagging along (maybe some romance??? nudge wink) and while he is occupied by day, I get to hang out with Sam, who I never get to see often enough!! You can bet she and I will find equal doses of shopping, chocolate and trouble! I promise a full report when I get back!

24 comments:

Susanne said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE these!!!!

Canadian Abroad said...

That purse is so sweet. Never seen one like that before.

randi said...

Of course you needed another purse! So so cute!

Little Island Quilting said...

Ooh ooh me please, please miss, me please. These are really lovely.
Note to self: Try saying 'I am super stoked' to self in front of mirror with British accent and see if it sounds OK.

ellen said...

Adorable. Both the purse and the wallet. Yeah, gonna need a tutorial on this one. :)

Leila said...

I love them. Great job!
My husband never seems impressed with how much money I save - somehow he thinks I would have saved more if I hadn't bought it at all!?! Weirdo. :)

Shay said...

Too too cute. Love those fabrics. Love the handles. Love the finished product. Maybe it's time for me to get over my bag block.

Is there ever really a question of economics when one crafts? Its almost as if money spent on supplies doesnt count really.

Stephanie said...

Have fun!! All my family lives in TO (or nearby) I have been there more times than I can count :P

Little Blue Mouse said...

They're gorgeous, I love the fabrics you've used.

Anonymous said...

So cute! I love the handles!!!! and the little wallet is amazing too!

Pink Stitches said...

Love those wallets! Super cute!

Kaelin said...

Happy anniversary! What exact date is yours? We may have an odd thing in common if it's June 10th, because that's my wedding anniversary! We'll be celebrating 5 years this Friday. Hope you all have fun this weekend, and I love, love, LOVE those bags!!!

Unknown said...

Fabulous, as usual. :)
Love the wallet you made up, I just adore the Keyka Lou patterns!

Katie B said...

Dang, you are a genius! These are fantastic! Love that fabric. Have a fun weekend!

hafza said...

Love it...

Kelly Irene said...

oi. I love these fabrics with a big fat heart! Your purses and wallets look great!

Barb said...

Can you tell me which local fabric shop you find your great fabric at? I too am a "Pegger and have a hard time finding amazing fabric.

Riel Nason said...

Okay, Kristie, I have a bag frame on order now ... hee, hee. I have Ghastlies fabric to make a Halloween bag ( I got a bigger frame ) but some version of this will be cool. Yours look great.

Jenny said...

Those are really...really...cute!! You make it look so easy too. I've never made a bag or purse...I'm secretly intimidated by them.

Amy said...

Very cute! I made a purse just like this with a pattern from uhandbag!

Bec said...

AHHH These are freaking AWESOME!! You Clever Gal... so so SO great!! xx

Sue said...

That is just way too cool! So smart!

Thea Wrench said...

hi, love these purses, can you please post a tutorial for making those cute little wallets too. they are soooooo cute.

Purses said...

Hello,

Thank you very much for your ideas to post comments. Pretty Little series has made a huge splash with crafters. Purses are available great varieties these days, there is a different purse for every occasion...