Pursuit of Purse

I received some really cool scraps of fabric from a friend, as payment for some minor sewing alterations. The pieces were an intersting taupe crinkle fabric that were from a designer outlet, left over from lightweight coat designs. She picked them up for a song, but did not know what to do with them... I was intrigued. Originally I thought a coat from them, but there was not enough for a whole coat. Then the body of the coat with knitted sleeves, hmmmm. But in the end I have so many coats, knitted or otherwise.

Then it hit me last week. A big Hobo purse. The idea of binding this fabric (wonder-under) to a sturdy canvas (also from my stash of fabrics) could make a purse fabric sturdy enough to stand up without being mushy. I used pattern Simplicity 3828, model G, and added a contrasting fabric for the handle and my own design of outer pocket. The contrast was actually from the alteration for my friend, about 6 inches cut from the bottom of a long coat, then the edge rehemmed. Again, the scrap was too small to do much with, but the pocket and handle were perfect. The colour is similar, and the fabric smooth and sturdy, and complimentary to the crinkle fabric! I lined it in a sweet batik cotton (left over from a previous quilt) and the zipper is from a purchased sweater that I did not like (except for the crystal encrusted zipper!).

The whole thing was from fabric in my stock and about 3 hours of time.

Cool