The Perfect Double-Sided Purse

i feel like i am always on the hunt for the perfect purse.  one that is not too big, but not too small to be used as an everyday purse.  it was during my conquest i stumbled upon this purse pattern on where else, Pinterest.  the link took me to the blog for Warehouse Fabrics.  the blog entry features a great tutorial for a roomy pleated purse.

their version of the purse

upon seeing this purse i knew i had to make it because it was exactly what i was looking for.  so i went through my fabric stashes to see what fabrics i had enough of to use for the purse.  in the end, the only things i spent money on for this purse were the webbing straps and the magnetic snap closure.  my kind of project!

for my version of the purse, i used denim on one side and a fun printed cotton on the other.  the denim piece i used was the bottom leg portion of a pair of jeans i cut up a while ago to make a denim skirt.  i cut it open on one side and laid the pattern piece on top and cut.  

i had also been wanting to try my hand at embroidery for a while now, so i decided to embroider the denim side.  as far as the embroidery design, i knew i wanted to do something simple and fun that went with the other side of the purse.  so i chose to do some flowers, swirls, and polka dots.  i used lime green, teal, yellow, and white embroidery floss.  to make the two big flowers i simply traced a flower sticker i have.  everything else was freehanded.  also, i meant to embroider the piece before i ironed the interfacing onto the back of it so that it would be a little more flimsy while trying to hold it, but i forgot. i was still able to embroider it with the interfacing on the back, though.  i also serged around the edges of the denim to prevent fraying as i was handling it.

this is what the denim piece looked like once i finished the embroidery.  i did a simple running stitch because i liked the look of it the most, and also because this was my first time embroidering anything.

once i had the embroidery done it was construction time!  i added teal piping around the top band but didn't ad it around the body of the purse since my version has two different sides. i figured the body of the bag was already interesting enough.  for my straps i simply went to Hancock Fabrics and bought enough webbing off the roll to make two straps.  one thing i do wish i had done differently was put the straps in a little further form the sides of the purse.

another change i made was in attaching the inside pockets.  in the blog they attached the divided pocket and flap pocket once they had already pleated the lining pieces.  i wanted the lining pieces to be able to fan out to fit the outer layers, so i attached the pockets onto the flat lining pieces THEN pleated them.

this was my first time inserting a magnetic snap, but it is DEFINITELY not my last.  i didn't realize how easy they were to install!  my next project i'm going to use one on is for a wallet i keep saying i'm going to make to go with my new purse (keywords "going to", but i AM the queen of procrastination).

once that was done it was time to attach the lining and outside together and flip it.  after i flipped it and closed the opening i topstitched around the top of the purse.

and ta-da!  the finished product.  i absolutely love my new purse and switched everything over to this one as soon as i was finished with it.  now i just need to get around to making the wallet i want.