Tips for Upcycling Purse Hardware

Today I'm bringing home my Tips for Upcycling Purse Hardware guest post I did for Melly Sews last month.

When Melissa of Melly Sews asked me to consider writing a guest post around the topic of upcycling purse hardware, I had a "why didn't I think of that first" moment!  Ever have one of those?  Well, it is a great topic, and one that I was excited to write about and share what I discovered with you all.  I hope you'll discover a new thing or two by reading my Tips for Upcycling Purse Hardware.

If you enjoy sewing your own bags and purses, then you know all too well how expensive and sometimes difficult it is to find good, quality purse hardware, especially at local stores.  This dilemma is what prompted me to begin salvaging good, quality hardware from used purses to upcycle on new bags that I sew.

A New Echino Purse and Zipper Pouch for Me!

With Spring in the air, I decided it was time to swap out my purse for something new and fresh! I've been dying to try out some of the gorgeous Japanese Echino Fabrics, and making a new purse with them seemed like the perfect project to do just that!

I received four pieces of Echino fabric from this cute fabric shop, Modes4U.  They have one of the largest selections of Echino and other Japanese fabrics that I have ever seen, and it was extremely difficult narrowing my choices down to these four!

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

My Emmaline Bag

Several weeks ago, I was fortunate to win a purse pattern from Janelle over at Emmaline Bags & Patterns blog.  The pattern I won was her Emmaline Bag pattern found for sale here on her website.  I was absolutely excited to get the chance to make this purse!  I had had every intention of making it right away, but I couldn't make up my mind about the fabric I wanted to use.  And quite honestly, I was feeling a little intimidated by the interior zipper pocket!

Fast forward to this past week, and I decided I was up for a challenge.  I picked out my fabrics, finally choosing to go with Amy Butler's Lark collection. I used Floral Couture in Berry for the exterior shell, Souvenir in Persimmon for the lining, and River Shine in Charcoal for the straps.  I just love these bold colors for summer!  Don't you?

Janelle advertises the pattern for the intermediate to advanced sewer, and I would definitely agree!  Compared to all the other purses/bags I've made, this one has more features that are reminiscent of a store-bought bag which make it appear very professional looking.  For instance, it has a gusseted bottom, pleated sides at the bottom, lots of curves, metal hardware, and an interior zipper pocket!

I don't consider myself an advanced sewer, and although the bag is full of details making it a more challenging project, I really didn't find it difficult to make.  But it did take me a lot of time, especially since this was my first attempt at making it!  I worked on the Emmaline Bag over the course of at least three days for a total of 8 to 10 hours in all.  That may seem like a lot of time, and it is, but I worked slowly and carefully because I really wanted this bag to turn out well, and I think it did.

And to think that I was afraid of attempting that zipper pocket!  Ha!  Janelle's pattern has so many pictures and such well written descriptions of each and every step that I had absolutely no problem making it!  The zipper pocket is perfect if I must say so myself!  In fact, the pocket was so easy to make following her instructions that I actually had fun making it!  Janelle even offers on her website two tutorials on how to make a zipper pocket.  Plus, she has several other useful tutorials for making other bag components.  You can find her tutorials here.

If you look at the bags Janelle has made on her blog, you'll see she used some lovely rectangular rings and O-rings to add a more decorative touch to the straps.  I searched everywhere locally for these to use on my bag and couldn't find any large enough.  The largest rectangular rings I could find were only 1" and the largest O-rings were only 1.25".  I finally decided to use some 1.5" D-rings that I came across at one store, but honestly, they just aren't thick enough to stand out like they should.  I've seen a couple of Etsy stores that sell purse supplies, so I suppose I'll have to just order them online if they have them!  If anyone knows of a good source for such things, please let me know!

Janelle recommended using template plastic for the bottom support.  I found it in the quilting supplies at Joann's.  I guess I expected it to be something more rigid like a thin plexiglass, but it's not.  I doubled the template plastic, so I'll see how well that works for now.

And finally, to me the most difficult part of sewing this bag was top stitching the two rows around the top of the finished bag.  I didn't use my seam ripper until this part--the next to last step in making the bag--because I just had a hard time getting the rows evenly spaced around those curves!  If I knew how to use a double needle, maybe that wouldn't have been an issue!  Anyway, after a couple of attempts, I did get it right!

In all, I am so happy with how the Emmaline Bag turned out.  It is so spacious and modern looking!  I can't wait to start using it.  And I'm already thinking about making another one in a solid color.  I'm pretty sure the second bag will be even easier to make than the first!

If you like this bag, I hope you'll visit Janelle at Emmaline Bags and Patterns and consider purchasing the Emmaline Bag pattern or perhaps the Teardrop Bag pattern.  Oh, and she is working on a new bag pattern, called the Steph in the City Bag, that is to be released very soon (update:  it's available for sale).  Thanks again for the pattern, Janelle!  It's one of the best detailed patterns I've ever seen!  (Update:  For a limited time, you can use coupon code Palooza on her website to get 20% pattern orders!  I just purchased the Teardrop Bag and Steph in the City Bag patterns, too!)

Wow! What a Deal Wednesday - Week 2

Well, it has been a while since I've been to the thrift store, but one day last week, I had a few minutes when I was out and child free. So I decided to head over to the Goodwill Outlet store to dig up a bargain.

Here's what I found in about a half hour.

I didn't find as many interesting clothes as on my first trip here, but what I did find this time was for me and not the kids.  The Tommy Hilfiger sweater was flawless and is very comfortable to wear.  You might recognize it in my photo from the other day with my Infinity Scarf from Imagine Gnats.

The Lei shirt was actually something I bought because I liked the fabric, and at first, I thought I'd probably end up repurposing it into something for Ella. However, after I tried it on, I decided it fit me pretty good.  If I don't end up wearing it, I can still use it to make her something adorable.  She was disappointed I was keeping it for myself because she liked the beautiful flower fabric so much!

The Old Navy corduroy pants were in excellent condition, so I took a chance that they might fit.  The size was correct on the label, but when I tried them on at home, they were too small.  Not a loss though.  I'll end up using the fabric for something eventually.

I dug through a bin of books and came up with these four for the kiddos.  The three larger books were essentially brand new.  One is even a lift the flap book with no tears or blemishes!  The snowman book is from the 1970's and just screamed for me to save it.  I love the illustrations and the story, although the last couple of pages are missing. :(

I found these two lovely pieces of vintage lace.  The white piece is a little over a half yard, while the green is almost two yards.  I have no idea what to do with lace, so they are for a future project yet to be determined.

Finally, I found a very tacky purse with these bamboo handles.  I decided to salvage the handles, zipper, magnetic closure, and a couple of small D-rings from it to use on future projects.  The handles alone are worth over $4 new!

At the Goodwill Outlet, all items are paid for by the pound.  So, here's what I spent:

Plus Sales Tax of $0.11

Wow!  What a deal!  All that for only $4.17!

I definitely want to head back to the Goodwill Outlet soon to search for more goodies, but it's not a place I like to visit with my kids.  I get a little paranoid about germs in there although it doesn't appear any dirtier than the retail Goodwill store, just a lot messier.  I guess it's because everything is just thrown into these large bins/tables for people to rummage through.  I've even seen some people wear surgical masks and gloves!  

Well, I'm off to fill up my Purell bottle!  See you next time!

The Folklore Bag

* My Folklore Bag was just featured on Threading My Way!  Thanks, Pam!

Back in December, I checked out the book One Yard Wonders from my public library.  There were lots of great looking ideas in the book--all that can be created with just a yard of fabric.  I was interested in making a new purse (my latest obsession), and The Folklore Bag pattern caught my eye.

I had recently come across a wool remnant at Joann's that I thought would be perfect for this bag, but instead of making straps for the purse, I purchased some interesting red/burnt orange beaded handles.  Here's how it turned out:

The lining fabric was also a remnant that I found at Joann's.

I thought the whole purse went together quickly and easily.  The pattern and instructions were simple to follow, and I'd gladly make another one sometime.  I can't remember now if the pattern called for interfacing and fusible fleece, but I added both to provide the bag with more stability.

I'm pleased with how this bag turned out.  I can't decide if I want to keep it for myself or try and sell it when I open my Etsy shop later this week.  I've got enough of the wool fabric to make another one, but I'll have to look in my fabric stash for lining.

Have a great day everyone!