D.I.Y Clutch.

I have made 7 clutches of varying sizes in varying fabrics, in the past two afternoons.

I have pieces of fabric and old clothes, I get bored, and I decide to make something. This time it was simple fold-over clutch purses & trinket bags.
I like to think of myself as a creative person, but am not so sure that I actually have any "mad skillz". I pretty much just make the project up as I go.
Most of them I will probably gift to friends. I'm not sure what I will do with 7 clutches!

The reason I tell you this, is because I think it is an awesome Idea for DIY Brides! How about giving your bridesmaids a little clutch each? Big enough to hold essentials for the day {lip gloss, compact} and she can re-use it for every day, popped in her handbag to keep her makeup together!

As I said, I have no mad skillz, I literally created a rectangle, from two coordinating fabrics, {with interfacing to stiffen them} and took it from there!
I decorated with buttons and lace, and am pretty happy with how they came out.
There are a couple larger ones {which would fit passports and tickets/travel info. Cute way to keep organised when going overseas!} and wee ones {which fit mascara, pens, lipgloss, etc.} and a really tiny, cute one! {perfect for keeping your tampons from spilling all over the place from your handbag!}

Heres a few pictures for you to have a looksie at.
I am rather proud of my achievements!

This clutch is super soft, so that it can roll up to hold pens & a notepad, or whatever tickles your fancy, and ties with a little black ribbon! {see below!}

This one was an old t-shirt which I got hair dye all over. Shame. But it's now a handy travel pouch!

Pretty handy, don't you think?!

And Oh-so easy.

{With my amazing paint skillz}, I have drawn a couple of diagrams for you.

Two pieces of co-ordinating fabric. Mine were about 30cm by 20cm. {If you are making them for bridesmaid gifts, Why not tie them in with the theme for your Wedding?}

And two pieces of fusible interfacing, cut to size.

Iron the interfacing on the wrong side of the fabric.

Pin the two pieces right sides together.

Sew around, leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance, and a 2 inch gap so you can turn the bag right side out. Which, coincidentally is your next step. =]

Turn your bag right side out. 

Fold and iron the gap in on itself, and ladder stitch the hole together. Or you can cheat and machine along the whole edge in a pretty stitch, like a zig-zag or similar.

Decide how far you want to fold the bag. Have a good play around to get the proportions right, you don't want to fold the bottom too far and then have a tiny top that barely folds over.

Once you have decided, iron the folds, and then use a pretty stitch again, to sew the sides together.

Then fold the top over, iron, et voila!

If you like you can decorate it with buttons or bows, or even add lace..... possibilities are endless!

I hope that was easy to follow!

It is pretty straight forward if you have an idea of what you want. Feel free to play around with different ideas,  even round the end with a plate before sewing to make a scalloped top fold!

 Happy sewing!