Placemat Purse or Scripture Case
by: Wokay54 from our
HFPE Group
Pictures Copyright ©2007 The Homemaking Cottage
1 placemat
1 pair of handles (I found mine at Wal-Mart craft
department)
fabric, ribbon and trim to embellish
Embellish the front of your placemat on the right side of
the placemat. You'll be able to tell the right side as
either the side with no care tag or the side that the ends
are not hemmed toward. Since the bottom of your bag will be
3" deep, stay within the top 7 1/2" inches of the placemat.
Otherwise, you could lose some of your embellishment when
you sew up the purse. Also, don't forget you'll be using a
1/2" seam allowance on the sides. Let your creativity go
nuts on this part. If you have an embroidery machine, you
can really create some fun patterns. Otherwise, sew on
ribbons, buttons, jewels, or fabric appliqués.
Fold placemat in half with right sides together. After you
fold the placemat, you should not see your embellishment.
Step 3:
Stitch 1/2" from edges on both sides. Make sure you
backstitch (hit reverse on your machine) at the top and the
bottom.
Step 4:
This forms the bottom of the purse. Take one side seam you
just sewed and place it on top with the top of the bag
toward you (the bag is shown upside down). Force the bag to
flatten with the bottom of the seam forming the top of the
triangle. Stitch across the triangle as shown, 1 1/2" from
the point of the triangle, which will make a 3" stitch.
Again, make sure you backstitch. It's too difficult to open
up the seam allowance, so just turn the seam allowance to
one side or the other. Do the same on the other seam.
Step 5:
Turn bag right side out. Your bag is now basically together
except for handles and closure. Measure across the top of
your bag to find the center and attach your closures and
handles or attachments accordingly. For instance, if your
handle needs to attach 5" apart, measure 2 1/2" from the
center on each side.
Pictures Copyright ©2007 The Homemaking
Cottage
Ideas for handles:
If you would like to change out the handles on the purse, attach them with some
sort of a tie (either ribbon or fabric). Just make sure the holes on the handles
are the same distance apart. Then you can change the color or shape of the
handles as you desire.
If you want to just buy one set of handles, you can move them from bag to bag as
you desire. If the handle has removable hardware, you can sew double-folded tabs
on the bag and remove the hardware to change handles.
You can also use ribbon or cotton webbing as handles. A shoulder strap needs to
be about 26" long, while a handle for hand-holding can be as little as 8" long.
Don't forget you can embellish the cotton webbing with striped or jacquard
ribbon.
Construction Ideas:
Experiment with different constructions- make the bottom narrower or wider which
will make your purse slightly taller or shorter, respectively.
You can also sew the purse up on the outside, so seam allowance is showing. You
can then sew a piece of bias tape or ribbon to the seam for embellishment.
|
