I Made my First Purse!

A few months ago I was visiting my mom at her quilter's guild quilt show and I was talking to the owner of my favorite quilt shops, The Little Shop. The owner commented on my purse, she said it was similar to the Amy Butler Birdie Sling Bag and mentioned she was having a class on how to make one. I told my mom about it and she signed us up for the class. I was excited on a couple of levels, first because I have always wanted to learn how to sew a purse, and two I thought it would be fun to take a sewing class with my mom! Making a purse is a lot more work than I had anticipated! I don't know how the Purse Sellers on Etsy do it!

For me the hardest part was picking out the fabric. This bad is more of a tote than an everyday bag but I still was very picky about the fabric. I ended up going with a fabric called 1974 by Urban Chicks for Moda. I paired it with a solid purple for the bands and the straps. Then used another moda pattern for the lining. If I could do this purse again, I would use the solid purple also for the lining and use the exterior fabric for the pockets. Oh well, maybe next time! We cut everything before we went to class, that way we could get right to sewing! It helps that my mom has lots of experience taking sewing classes! Here is a pic of all of the fabric cut out.

The class was two 3 hour sessions. After the first class I had the lining sewn together and had made the pockets. I actually got a little carried away with one of the pockets. I sewed a few more lines to make a pocket for my cell phone, my lip balm, and my business card case. Here is a pic of where I was after the first class.

Before the second class I had to finish top stitching the lining and sew and top stitch the band. I am glad I did that because there was a lot left to do in the second class. I was excited to work with the exterior panels because then I would get to see what the purse would look like. I learned how to make pleats, which was easier then I thought and how to make gussets at the bottom of the bag. I really started picking up the pace towards the end of the class because I wanted to finish it while I still had an instructor and I didn't want to leave with a UFO (Un finished object!). I was able to finish the purse by the end of the class with the exception of one 3" section. My sewing needle broke while I was doing the last but of top stitch. When I got home, I finished it. Here is a pic of the final purse.

I LOVE how it turned out and am so proud of myself! I need to add a clasp on the inside to keep it closed and I plan on adding a fabric flower made from the main fabric to the purple part. I bought an awesome purple button for the center of it. My mom and I also want to make some modifications to the pattern. We used fusible fleece on every piece of the bag but think interfacing on the exterior pieces would be best. I don't think I will sell purses anytime soon but now they I know what to do, I can definitely use those skills to make some cute purses as gifts or even for myself! A girl can never have enough purses!