Vintage Made Modern Blog Tour

Before you get started on your purse, can we tell you how much fun we had looking through the new Vintage Made Modern collection and choosing our prints? We opted for the fuchsia colorway, but we can tell you the teal was a close runner up! Have fun and be creative when choosing the fabrics for the exterior, lining and bias strips for your bag!

You can be creative with your hardware choices, too. The Dritz® D-ring is functional – use it to attach a swivel hook, fob or other accessories. You’ll use Dritz® belting for the handles, and the sew-on snaps and rivets give your purse a professional finish.

A rotary cutter, ruler, and mat are the best tools to use to quickly and accurately cut fabric pieces. Use the 36” long OmniEdge™ ruler to straighten edge of fabric before cutting pieces. Starting right will help you make all your cuts accurately.

Cut fabric as follows:

• Plaid – Two 15” x 15” pieces for purse front
• Tailor Made Print – Two 15” x 15” pieces for lining
• Textbook Definition Print – 12” x 26” piece for bias strips

Interfacing – Two 15” x 15” pieces

Cut eight 1” bias strips from Textbook Definition print. Line up 45° line on ruler with lower edge and corner of fabric. Make the first 45° cut across the width of the fabric. Use 1” line to cut individual strips.

Insert a bias strip into bias tape maker. Pin end to pressing surface. Press flipped edges with iron while pulling tape marker to form 1/2” bias strips. Cut one end of strip straight across and turn under 1/4”. Repeat on all strips. Set aside.

(Want to learn more about making bias strips? Check out these tutorials on our website: how to use a bias tape maker, how to cut and sew bias strips, and bias strips yardage chart.)

Fuse interfacing to back of purse front pieces following package instructions. Mark in 1” from each side at top of purse. Cut with rotary cutter and ruler from bottom corner to mark on each side. Cut lining pieces just like purse pieces.

Cut two 4” pieces of elastic belting. Mark elastic placement on each front piece, 4-1/2” down from top edge and 3-1/2” in from side. Using the 6” x 6” Omnigrid ruler makes it easy to locate and position both measurements at the same time.

On one front of purse, position top corner of elastic at each mark, keeping elastic parallel to top edge. Pin and stitch 3/4” from end of elastic.

Place folded end of one bias strip 2” down from top and 3-1/2” in from side, overlapping elastic piece. Slip end of elastic inside of fabric fold. Run strip straight down front to bottom edge of purse. Pin and stitch along both edges of bias strip.

Place second bias strip beside first stitched strip (on edge side) and pin at top. Keep strips side by side until just below the elastic. Mark 1-1/2” from first strip at bottom edge of purse. Pivot second strip so inside edge is at the mark. Pin and stitch along both edges of strip. Apply strips over other elastic piece following same method. Trim excess bias strips even with bottom of purse front.

Lay second piece of purse next to finished side and pin elastic in position at mark. Stitch 3/4” from end of elastic.

Position and stitch bias strips using same method as above.

On last side, secure elastic at mark and position bias strips the same as before. Be careful not to catch loose fabric in stitching. It will be a little tricky because you are now working with a loose “tube.”

Turn fronts so they are right sides together. (Elastic with be inside and out of the way.) Pin and stitch sides and bottom edge of purse. Stop and pivot 1/2″ from sides at corners. Press seams open as best you can.

Align side and bottom seams, forming a point at each corner. Position ruler 1” down from corners and draw a line across the corner that is perpendicular to seams. Stitch on line. Trim away excess fabric at corners.

Tip: Line up straight lines of ruler on seam for a true perpendicular line.

Cut cotton belting into two 27” handles. Turn all cut edges under 1” and stitch to secure. Insert a D-ring in one of the finishing folds before stitching.

Position finished end of handles 4” down from top edge and directly over bias strips. Place end with D-ring on left side of front. Stitch rectangle at edge of handle starting about 1-1/2” from top edge of purse.

Apply 2 rivets or snap pieces to each handle. Make your purse unique with your own personal touches.

Center back plate of magnetic snap 6-1/2” in from top corner and 1” down on both lining pieces. Mark slots and cut with scissors. Install snap following package instructions, or see this blog post and tutorial for additional application tips and instructions.

Pin lining pieces, right sides together, and stitch around side and bottom edges like purse front. Leave about a 5” opening in the middle of the bottom seam.  Fold corners, mark, and stitch like purse front.

Place purse inside of lining and align top edges, right sides together. Stitch and turn purse right side out through open seam in lining.

Fold lining to inside of purse and press top edge. Edge stitch along folded edge. Hand or machine stitch opening in lining closed.

Thanks to Amy Barickman / Indygo Junction for providing this book: Vintage Notions: An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion, and Fun –we gave it away to a lucky winner on 10/2/15.