A Wee Handbag

I was looking for a simple afternoon project to sew when I stumbled across this post at Make It & Love It. I promised my almost 2 year old niece that I would make her a purse a little while ago and this is the perfect little bag for her!

I have to say that the instructions and pictures in the tutorial are really well done and were very easy to follow which is important for someone not so experienced in sewing such as myself. Don't get me wrong... I can stitch a straight line and put some stuff together but I'm working on my more advanced skills like zippers and pleats. And that being said, this was the first time I ever sewed a pleat. It was no where near as traumatic as I expected.


One thing I found that helped in sewing this little guy was removing the extension table and sewing around the opening of the bag with the free arm. I never thought I'd need that feature on my sewing machine but I was definitely glad I had it.

 

The fabric I used came from a couple of  fat quarters I picked up at Joanne's a while ago when they were on sale... I'm a sucker for those things. I have way more than I'd like to admit. I mean, you know it's BAD when you hide new ones from your husband when you bring them in the house.

The button is a spare that came with a cardigan from years ago that's long met it's demise. I always save my extra buttons and I have a jar full on my desk... you never know when you'll need that one weird button!

So there's you have it... the first handbag I've made for a little one. I really like how it turned out and I'm contemplating doubling the measurements and making one for myself. I don't think my niece will mind if we're twinsies.

- Kim