A Gathered Zippered Clutch for the Opera

So as I’m getting ready for us to go see The Blue Man Group it hits me that I really don’t want to mess with my purse.  In addition to worrying about where it is I have a little problem with setting my purse on the floor after seeing a special on 20/20 or one of those shows – I just can’t do it now that I know about all the germs.  The problem though is that there are things that I simply need to carry with me!

Then I remembered seeing the Gathered Zippered Clutch all over the blogs right now and decided Bingo! – there’s my answer!

 

I pulled from my fabric stash everything except the zipper, which required a quick trip up to Hancock Fabrics.

 

I followed the Gathered Clutch Tutorial and couldn’t be happier with the instructions or with how it turned out.

 

There were no instructions on how to add the strap, so I actually had to wing it, which is something I’m not the best at.  In case anybody needs measurements for it, I cut the fabric for my strap 3” tall x 13” wide and sewed it in at the very end when sewing the sides together.

Some notes and thoughts:

• I only had lightweight fusible interfacing here and it definitely needs the medium weight to make it more sturdy
• I didn’t add the divider pocket or card holders, then saw afterwards that she says if you don’t have either of those to add fleece or canvas to make it more sturdy.
• Really for my needs – Lip Ivo, ibuprofen, cuticle cream – I didn’t need a clutch quite this big, so the next one I make will probably be smaller.  Personal choice.  :)
• This was the first sewing project I’ve done since starting the room rearranging in our house and it took far longer to find all the necessary tools than to do the sewing.  I do see how this could be completed in a bit over an hour if you are set up.

A last note on the fabric – I was thrilled to actually use some fabric I had on hand, though I admit it sometimes scares me to cut into my fabrics.  I do love these fabrics and I know that once I cut into them they are gone – isn’t that silly?  But now that I’ve done it I’m so tickled with actually using what I had that I know I might be on a roll now.

 

This is what I cut into and I’ll bet I’ve had it for probably 10 years (and yes, I know the fabric is dated, but I still love it).  At around that time I used to belong to a fat quarter club from somewhere online that would send a coordinated packet of 8 fat quarters once a month or every other month.  I probably did it for a year and every one of those packets is beautiful – and I have no idea where they are from.  So any fabric sellers out there take note – be sure to put your company name and url on your tags so we can return and buy more!  :)

 

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