Fabric Clutch Purse

I know I have not posted anything in a while but I have been trying to hunt down a specific treasure for this project. For the last couple days I have been trying to find the right size metal frame for the clutch. I still did not find the one that I wanted. But, the one that I have will do. I've always thought that making a purse would be hard. After watching the Martha Stewart show (one of my favorite shows during the day) and seeing her and her guest do a demo. I thought to myself "that looks very easy". Then off to the fabric store I went and went crazy while I was there. I spent so much money on just fabric, it was crazy (I had to hide the receipt from Marty :-O). Anyway, lets get to the tutorial.

The materials for this project:

• Decorative fabric for outside of clutch
• Fabric for lining
• Heavyweight fusible stabilizer
• Fusible fleece
• Rotary cutter
• Iron
• Sewing machine
• Coordinating sewing thread
• Bond 527 Multi-Purpose Cement
• Metal clutch frame hardware (8-by-3in)
  

1. Cut 13 1/2 (width)-by-13(height) inch pieces from from the decorative fabric, lining fabric, and heavyweight fusible stabilizer. Cut a 10 1/2 (width)-by-13 (height) inch piece of fusible fleece. With an iron, fuse heavyweight stabilizer to wrong side of decorative fabric, then fuse fleece to center of stabilized side of fabric.




2. With right sides of decorative and lining fabrics together, sew 1/2-inch seams along both longer 13 1/2-inch edges.



3. Turn sewn pieces so right sides are facing out, and press seams flat.

4. Fold in half, matching seams at top, with lining on inside. Sew a 1/4-inch seam on outside raw edges, then trim seam allowances to 1/8 inch and snip in at the corners. Turn again, so decorative fabric is on the inside. Sew 1/4-inch seam along edges, creating a finished French seam, then turn right side out.

****When I fold the fabric in half, I used a paper clip to keep it in place.

5. Fold corners down; mark and sew a 2-inch gusset on each. Trim corner to 1/8 inch. Turn again so lining faces out; sew a 1/4-inch seam along gussets to finish seams. Turn right side out one last time.

6. Apply a bead of fabric glue to metal frame. Center over top seam, carefully insert fabric in metal frame, and secure in place with tape. Allow glue to set for several hours ( I didn't listen to the directions and the fabric kept falling out of the frame, silly me).

Annnnnd here are the results..........