Friday, July 16, 2010

Part 4 (Finally): The Purse

 

 

 

 


As you can see...

...the bottom of the original project has become my purse.

I fashioned handles by measuring my 'grip width'...

...cutting long, oval holes in the front and back sides of the bag.

I zig-zagged around the top edges...

...in order to keep the fabric pieces from fraying.

Notice how the lace and linen fabric ruched up during felting...

...and how the wool yarn has become completely incorporated into the felt.

I wanted to reinforce the handle edges, so I sewed fold over elastic (FOE) to the front of the bag...

...then pulled it around to the back and zig-zagged it.

I thought that it would be easier to use than cotton fabric due to its built-in stretch...

...but I found that it was hard to both stretch and sew around such small openings, and I wouldn't recommend using it (unless you practice first on a test piece!)

The finished bag is a surprisingly nice size, even after all of these modifications...

...11-inches tall by 13-inches wide.

Just right for a wallet, keys and some lipgloss.

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7 comments:

Leedra said...

Even though our projects don't always end out to be what we intended them to be, sometimes what we do get is very cool. I like your purse, and if you don't point out to people you see that it isn't what you were aiming for they will never know.

Angela said...

four wonderful successes, no failures in sight.

Kelly said...

I am going to have to try one with a doiley! You ended up with some wonderful pieces. :)

Cameron said...

So very cute. I hope that you are planning to sell them, they are going to be a hit. Love the patchy look. You have really gotten so much more daring. Great job!!!

Anonymous said...

I think you did an amazing job with the original bag. I doubt I would ever have had the imagination to come up with so many wonderful and lovely ideas. I definitely see no failures here at all. It is all success. :)

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks for all of the encouragement, ladies!
I'm so very grateful for your kind and thoughtful comments!!!
Since I think of this as a 'process blog', I try very hard to point out what I see as my errors...and also places where I feel I could change or improve something, so that others might avoid similar mistakes in their work.

k.somerville said...

that's just downright cute!