Carry the Clutch Girls.

"I've always loved when girls carry their wallets as a clutch instead of a bag."

Alexander Wang

The beginning of my clutch stash.

There are so many wonderful things about a clutch purse aren't there? So convenient and easy to carry. Perfect when you don't want to carry the kitchen sink. Versatile. Light. And if you are the slightest bit crafty you can own a million zillion in all the glorious colors of the universe and in every style imaginable.

Over the past weeks, I have become a lover of clutches for all the reasons above and then some. One major reason is So Sew Easy's Clutch pattern. It is somewhat rare to find a purse pattern this user friendly yet so amazingly easy to hack. The only limitation here: one's imagination. Fabric choices, interfacings, embellishments, closures, to strap or not to strap, and size; all can be changed up, customized, coutured to your very own loves.

Deby at So Sew Easy really does make it....well....easy!! And somewhat lucrative as she is hosting a clutch contest with lots and lots of prizes including a side bar link on her highly trafficked website to the winning blogger . Although, this post is somewhat late in the contest, it closes tomorrow, one could STILL easily enter because these clutches can be sewn very quickly. Heck, by midnight tomorrow, one could sew about 25! Ha, one a hour as of this post! Probably not likely, but you get the idea of how friendly this pattern truly is!

The first time I printed off the pattern, I forgot to tile and got a smaller pattern. I decided to use it to make my first clutch for practice. With a sweet pink linen on which I embroidered a small motif, some pretty purple satin for lining and a quality snap, I ended up with the small jewel pictured at the bottom here:

Small pink clutch perfect for lipstick, jewelry, other odds and ends.

For the contest entry something a little more dressy and an opportunity to attempt a new sewing skill seemed in order. The flap on this pattern just begs for embellishment so beads it was! 

Beaded flap. This was so much fun! Can't wait to put beads on a skirt!!

It just so happens our little town has a sweet bead shop. While there, a beading jewelry fiend help me choose beads and gave great encouragement. Beading is not that hard! There are a few good tutorials on youtube and some articles. But I actually was surprised by the lack of beading instruction out there. Basically, it seems you have to buy a book. However, with good quality nylon thread, quilt batting or repurposed felted wool, a good sharp needle with a tiny tiny shaft and head (a pain for someone who is past 45) but necessary to get the small seed beads on, one can be off and running. Once going, things went quickly. 

Some beading tips: 
1. Set yourself up completely with a; flat tray to pour your beads on, the beads, extra needle, thread, and scissors. Also in the future I will probably get one of those hand needle threaders as one of the teens had to be called upon to thread the needle a couple of times.
2. Make sure you are not rushed. I actually found this process to be very relaxing. It was a joy to see the bead designs take shape.
3. Anchor your thread each time you take new thread. Double your thread, come up through the fabric from the back, go back down very close to initial hole, run the needle and thread through the middle of your double thread and then pull tight. Anchoring ensures your beads do not come lose.
4. Frequently check your work on the back to make sure you have pulled all the thread through. A couple of times I had to start over with a design because I did not pull my thread all the way through which means loose beads on the front.
5. Tie off securely. As if the zombie apocalypse is here. All of your work on the back is hidden by the lining for the clutch so it is okay to leave a bit of knots etc...on the back of your work.

To finish off my clutch it needed a special lining. Some time ago I purchased a small amount of raw silk from fabricandart.com. They have the most amazing selection of silks there and this one was no exception. Golden in color it was the perfect finish to my special clutch.

In person, this fabric has the most amazing sheen.

I am delighted with the finished product and am very happy that Deby shared her pattern and hosted this great clutch contest! Thank you Deby!

Love!

Lovely Little Linen n' Lace

Claiming her Meringue clutch.

Things have been happening here. And they don't have anything to do with sewing; which makes me a crumpy person. There have been Debate tournaments, music recitals, road trips to do college things, car repairs, work (necessary, I suppose) and general life event things that require attendance (this one is ok). NOT MUCH SEWING.

But, finally, this past week I had 6 days off in a row. Whoohoo!!! Let's sew!!!

I thought anyway, but amazingly very little has been accomplished. Almost an entire day was spent trying to figure out how to make a mini sawtooth star quilt pattern when what I should have done first thing was google it. Because, guess what?? Someone has ALREADY come up with that pattern. Of coarse they have. Quilting is a mature industry for sure and there aren't too many surprises out there. Yes, new variations on patterns, yes, the trend of "modern quilting", yes, occasionally new techniques, and yes, lots and lots of new fabrics always.

The beautiful Sawtooth Star Pattern.

But you can be assured when it comes to something like the sawtooth which is an OLD quilt pattern, well, pretty much every aspect of that pattern has been thought about and given the once over by someone! No need to reinvent the wheel. So, memo to self...don't waste time and fabric trying to come up with a pattern for a certain size block because someone already has (or come close anyways).

Another day was spent on the Gabriola skirt SAL from Sewaholic. Because the pattern requires 5 yards (yes, it's true, 5) of fabric, I made a muslin from a .49 resale fabric. Thank goodness, I did. My muslin had/has some issues. What should have been a quick sew of a great maxi is now lingering in my sewing room. Meanwhile...tick, tick, March is coming to a close and my Big City Bag for March was not done!

It is a good thing this month's bag was an easy one! The Meringue Clutch.

From: Mommy's Naptime as featured in Sara's book.

Yes, even in my sewing slump, I was able to finish the Meringue Clutch! I have learned quite a bit about bag making in the last couple of months. Between Sewing with Squeak's Big City Bag SAL and Deby's Carry All Bag, the opportunity to work with various interfacings, bag hardware, and bag making techniques has been ample.

This Clutch design just speaks summer to me so I wanted something soft and summery. Linen and Lace! I used pure white linen and a vintage piece of cotton lace I've had since my 20's. Trust me, it's vintage. :) I opted to use a medium weight interfacing and skipped the interfacing all together for the strap. Also, after seeing a few comments about the gathered panel that was used I decided to only cut my to 20" instead of 24". I did not want the lace pattern to be lost in the gathers. I also didn't topstitch near the zipper. Call me a rebel.

Really like the shape and size of this clutch.

Cotton lace which my Mom gave me eons ago.

So pure and white, it is my opinion that linen is one of the most beautiful fabrics available.

 Anyway, I am quite pleased with how the bag turned out. One of the great things about Sara's bag patterns is they finish to very generous sizes, even this clutch. My daughter promptly claimed the clutch. Happier now.