A Reversible Echino Purse

A couple of days ago, I showed you the beautiful new purse and zipper pouch I made for myself using Japanese Echino Fabrics.  Of course, as soon as I finished my new ensemble, my daughter, Ella, asked if it was for her!  Since I had two more prints from the cute fabric shop, Modes4U, I decided to make her a reversible Echino purse of her own!

Side one was made with Echino canvas fabric Buck Stag with Glasses in Blue.

While Side Two was made using forest hart owl turquoise Echino canvas fabric.  I love the patchwork designs on this fabric!

Modes4U sent me four half meter Echino prints in all to try out.  It was a tough decision deciding on just four!

Disclaimer:  I was provided with the fabrics in exchange for my honest opinion about these products.

Some of you may recognize the wooden purse handle I used for this bag.  These were pretty common back in the 1970's, and in fact, this handle is from my childhood purse.  My mom had a larger one just like it that I plan to eventually make a new cover or two for me to use with it.

I wish I had taken a picture of my original purse, but when I found it a couple of years ago among some of my childhood things, it was so deteriorated that I took it apart, traced the original cover, and then trashed it.  Plus, this was before I was into blogging and didn't even consider that I would some day need a before picture!

Since Ella insisted on me making her a new purse as well, I thought now would be the perfect time to reuse the old wooden handles.  I thought for a brief moment about painting or refinishing the handles, but then I saw the wear on the finish that my little hands had created over 30 years ago. Immediately, I decided to leave them as is and let Ella's use of the purse add to its charm. Someday, I hope she'll appreciate the journey this little bag has taken and know how much I enjoyed using it when I was her age.

First, I sewed a new lining using muslin and then had my husband staple it onto the wooden handle. I then stitched eight 1/2" black buttons to it to hold the purse cover in place.

To construct the new reversible cover, I simply cut out two pieces of fabric for each side and fused Pellon Shape Flex 101 to all four pieces before sewing them together.  Lastly, I sewed eight buttonholes (4 on each side) so that the cover could be easily attached and removed from the purse lining.  Simply flip the cover inside out to showcase yet another interesting Echino fabric.

These Echino fabrics are a blend of cotton and linen and are a dream to sew with!  I'm not sure why I waited so long to actually try them, but now I am definitely hooked! They are perfect for making bags and purses and feel very similar in weight and thickness to a lightweight home decor fabric.

Ella loves the deer wearing glasses since it's so silly, but I am partial to all the beautiful colors and shapes used on the reverse side.

It feels great to have used these little wooden handles finally.  I know Ella will love her new bag as much as I did years ago.  I think I'll made her a few more covers to use with it.  They don't take much fabric and are so easy to make.

Be sure to check out Modes4U for all kinds of Japanese fabrics and other fun items like Hello Kitty, washi tapes, bento boxes, and more!

Here's a pic of my entire Echino ensemble!  Be sure to read my earlier post about the purse and zipper pouch I made for myself!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have fun sewing!