The two
Potato Chip bags I made last Fall inspired me to create another one for everyday use as a purse.
This one is bigger than the pattern calls for, and I really enjoyed playing with the details to make it just the purse for me. I knew I wanted patchwork on the flap, so I started by cutting strips of fabric.
After sewing them together, I cross cut them into strips, and then sewed them back together seminole style.
The piece I used for the purse flap was cut from the center as you can see above. It seemed a shame to waste the leftovers, so I sewed them together and made another patchwork piece for the back pocket.
The patchwork was going to be the only colorful part of the bag, but I didn't have enough of the dark blue batik to make the entire body of the purse, so I added the light blue fabric and a strip of pink piping to the bottom.
As Tim Gunn would say, I had to "Make it Work!"
When the bag is open, there is a pocket under the flap for my cell phone. I wanted to make the pocket out of the same fabric as the body of the bag, but again, I ran into the problem of not enough blue batik. I ended up deconstructing some of the leftover patchwork to get enough blue fabric for the pocket. I think you can see that it is made up of strips.
I put a buttonhole on the cell phone pocket for a bit of security. Inside the handbag, are two zippered pockets, a flap pocket, a pen slot and a little D-ring to hold a spare key.
For the handles, I found one more use for the last scraps of the seminole patchwork. I cut it into narrow strips and pieced the strips together.
I wanted the strap to be adjustable but I couldn't find the right hardware anywhere. I ended up sacrificing an old handbag and stealing the hardware from that to use for the new purse.
Creating a pocketbook with details "just for me" was a lot of fun, and I've been using it for a couple of months now. A great way to brighten up the gray winter.
Toby's version of "photobombing"
Here's a question for you. Do you call it a "purse", a "handbag" or a "pocketbook"? I used all three in this blog post. I grew up saying "pocketbook" (or "pockabook"), but now I say "purse". Is it a regional thing?