Paisley and Dots purse

Last night, I needed a little sewing therapy so I whipped up this cute purse. It starts as three fat quarters (which I have tons of now!), so I picked three browns. I love this paisley fabric, so I made it the main one for the bag.

You start by cutting strips of different widths then sewing them all together to make the front. The shape is accomplished by trimming a triangle off both sides then creating a box bottom at the end.

Here's the back. I like the shape enough that I think it's really cute even in a single fabric. Maybe a Swiss dot fabric with a funky ribbon sewn across as an accent? Or, ribbon and a bow to make it a really girlie look? Or denim with a wide pink ribbon and some rhinestones? I could think of a million variations!

Here's a detail of the front fabrics. I didn't look at the big circles before cutting or I would have left room above and below on the top piece. Live and learn, right? (This is a detail that probably no one would notice but me! Also, I would have centered the big dots on the skinny strip so they looked better. There was quite a bit of this fabric left over, which means I could have tailored it to be just right.)

Here's a shot of the interior. I added a pocket at the last minute (dummy!) and placed it too high. Next time, I'll plan ahead and sew in the pocket before I start assembling the purse. Also, I did a magnetic closure instead of the flap and button suggested in the pattern. (That's too much of a hassle when you need to dig around!) And, I made the straps longer - the suggested length was awkward.


BTW: These fabrics were cheapy fat quarters that I picked up at Hancock Fabrics. I bought the paisley and the big dots to make an eye pillow, which turned out so cute that I went back to buy more. I bought the small dots to make into a burp cloth - but then I decided it complemented these really well.