1/2 bags: fold over clutch



a perfect little clutch. take it by itself, with a wrist strap, or across body.

fabric outter: chevron cotton duck, black upholstery canvas, scrap  leather
lining: quilting cotton

Shoes & bags. Yep they're my thing. But I can't make shoes, so bags it is! I love to carry around a big hold-it-all tote, but find my purse/keys/phone invariably get lost. This is the perfect sized clutch for those necessities. Take it by itself or throw in in the tote & you're good to go.

 I winged the construction, it's just a lined zippered bag (and there are about a thousand tutorials on the interwebs if you're looking for one. I saw a free pattern on Craftsy by Pattern Runway that looked good). A few notes:
  • I sewed the chevron & black canvas pieces together first & top stitched either side of the seam. I then interfaced it as one piece (basting stitches around the edge) , and did a stich-in-the-ditch through the interfacing & canvas to encourage the fold to happen at the seam.
  • I added little D-rings at the fold to add a wrist or crossbody strap. (still need some black pleather to make that strap. using a white one here to show it's use.)
  • Everything was from my stash (except the zip) so there is a little bit of gold/silver clashing going on with the hardware.
  • I used zipper tabs because my zip (18cm) was slightly smaller than I'd like. This allowed me to add an extra 2cm into the width of the clutch. I used cotton twill tape here. 
  • I used a leather needle to sew the leather patches onto the front piece prior to construction. I then switched to a jeans needle to get through the thick canvas seams. This worked great. 
  • My lining is a perfect colour match for the caramel & black. I included a pocket at the bottom of the bag to keep my phone separate from my keys (to stop scratching).

I really wanted to use the leather accents and had a perfect match for the caramel coloured chevron (you might notice the leftover fabric from my Portside Duffle). I love the neutral tones of this bag, it goes with a lot & doesn't scream HOMEMADE (I like the quote, "handmade not homemade").






 



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