Three Broken Needles later...

Happiness is....a new purse! Thursday Blog hop, sponsored by Becky's Rub Some Dirt On It. See all the posts at:

http://rubsomedirtblog.com


Rainy Sundays leave nothing to do but read, watch March Madness (groan), cook or make something. You know me, I'm going to make something. I beaded yesterday, so I thought I might work on another handbag. I am still perfecting my handbag pattern, and each one is more servicable than the last.

For instance I got tired of fighting the little closure tab (cute as it is!) on the pink polka dot bag,

and it's a little big, even though it's smaller than the black vinyl below. This bag is too big for me and it flops over when I lay it down.

And I needed my purse to have a little more bulk/substance to it than either of these two above. 

The beauty of this "box" style is that there are no zippers, closures no middle compartments.  It's light and the straps fit over the shoulder and yet, short enough so that the bag isn't flopping around on your hip.  It tucks under your arm, close to your body. (For basic how-to, see my post on making a box style purse.)

I found some quilted fabric in JoAnn's that had the turquoise color that I wanted for my next bag. It was a little pricey, but you only need a half of a yard.  Even though the fabric was reversible, I still wanted a separate lining. I chose a cotton in a coordinating color. The overall dimensions of the finished purse are roughly 10" X 12".  The straps are about 22" long.

Check it out!

The fabric has little gold threads in the striping.  I interfaced the cotton lining with felt, so the purse really holds it's box shape very nicely.

I added a little pocket to the front to slip my car keys into as I dash into the store. It drives me nuts to go searching for my keys, and they can easily get lost in the bottom of this bag.

The embellishment is off a pair of flip-flops that I never wore because they fell off my feet all the time.  Re-purposing is my mantra!!!

Three broken needles later, this puppy is ready to go shopping!!!

Laurel. Use the correct needles in your machine!