Saturday, June 28, 2014

Patched Clutch DIY

So here's the thing-we have prom today and I have a rather plain dress so I wanted a really cool clutch to go with. So why not do it myself :) Here's how it was done :)

Basically it's really easy. You need a stiffer kind of fabric for the base, many squares from different pieces of fabric (I had a different fabric for each one! :D)  for the patchworky-look and another softer, silkier fabric for the inside.
Then cut your base fabric into the shape you need for you type of clutch. I went for the envelope look and just took an envelope apart to see how it was folded but it is a little problematic with the closing, so I would recommend just using a rectangle which you can then fold into thirds. Just choose any type of clutch you want and improvise on the way, I'm sure you'll come up with a solution ;)
When you have cut you base fabric, start cutting out lots of small squares (mine are 5x5cm) from the different fabrics. Cut until you have enough to fully cover the base and arrange them the way you want. Then pin them all in place.
Now comes the 'quilting' part. Just use your sewing machine to sew right over the base and the squares to keep all the patches where they are supposed to be. I went along the edges of the squares, but could just randomly go right over everything-that would look pretty cool too I bet! ;)
When you're done sewing all the squares on, cutyour inside fabric to the same shape of the base fabric and lay both on top of eachother. Make sure the sides that will be visible afterwards are facing eachother inside. Then sew right along the edges of you sandwhich, leaving only a few centimeters open. Pull the whole thing inside out and then sew along the edges one more time, tucking the edges you left out the first time inside, so they look the same as the rest.
Now you just have to sew up the edges the way you want them (if you want your stiches to be invisible from the outside, just sew by hand and make sure you needle only goes through the underlying layer of the packet) and tadaaa-here is you new awesome clutch! ;)
 What I really like about this kind of patchwork look is that I can still tell you the origin of each and every piece of fabric-some are from old bags, old trousers from my dad, some are his ties, some are my granpas ties, some are made from the scraps from my grandmothers silk works, others are scraps from dresses I've made-it kinds of sums up a lot of my life a tiny bit which I love! ;)
xoxo Alex


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