Pretty Purse

I hate purse shopping. I mean, I really hate it. I hate everything about trying to find a purse I like. The colors, the styles, the sizes, the materials, the prices--it is all quite frustrating, because "everyone else" seems to like something that is much different from what I like. Thus, I generally avoid shopping for a purse unless I absolutely have to.

My last purse was a thrift store find. I was not even specifically looking for a purse at the time, but this one caught my eye.




It is small. (I do not go for big bags.) It is muted enough to go with pretty much everything, but it is not boring. It is feminine. It is cute. (Even my husband said so.) Besides, it cost only a dollar. I have been quite happy with it for a few years.

However, it is wearing out. You can see some of the pills collecting on it. Also, for awhile, I have wanted something a little more "elegant" than "cute." So I have idly glanced at purses when I have been out shopping for other things, but--as I expected--I have not discovered anything to my liking. Therefore, as I often do after attempting to find something satisfactory in the stores and utterly failing, I decided to make my own.

Currently, I am not buying any more sewing materials. My sewing room is full as it is. That means that I must work with what I have on hand. It also means that I have a huge stash to raid when I start a new project. This was in my stash, and I pulled it out most gleefully:



It is a shirt, a rather large one. It was given to a few years ago, and I saved it for the fabric (since it is much to big for me and not really my style). It is washable stretch velvet, and I think it is simply beautiful. I removed and saved the buttons and cut up the shirt to turn it into something I can use. Since it is stretch velvet, I needed a lining that would not give, or the purse would be pulled out of shape. Once again, I looked through my stash and found something delightful:



These batik-dyed cottons were also given to me. The pieces are not very big, which is why they have not been used in some other project. However, the combination of them turned out to be just enough for the lining of my purse. I put in a few inner pockets (one of them zippered), too. I love being able to actually see inside my purse when I am looking for something. Most purses seem to have dark linings, which makes trying to find something about like searching a black hole: All the light just disappears. Well, this purse does not have that problem.

I am quite pleased with how it turned out.



I did add some stiffening to the shell, since the purse would be quite floppy without a skeleton of some sort. Is it not lovely??


It is so demure and elegant on the outside, but it is bright and fun when you get close enough to see inside. Somewhat like some people I know. (The zipper, by the way, is a vintage one from 1947. Perhaps I will do a post on that sometime.)

I love my new purse. Even my husband exclaimed, "Wow!" when I showed it to him. Definitely a success.

I Have Returned

Obviously, it has been awhile since I last updated my blog. I am no longer sewing professionally. Since my marriage in August of last year, I am delighted to have started a new career as "domestic engineer." I still sew a bit, too, as the notion takes me. (No pun intended.)

I sewed for our wedding, of course. I had to. No one else could make my dress for me--and I certainly would never find such a dress in a store.



Yes, that is my wedding dress, and yes, it is blue. I have never wanted a white wedding dress. The fabric I used is actually drapery material. A seamstress friend gave me a roll of it years ago. I thought it was beautiful at the time, but it never occurred to me that I would end up using it for my wedding gown.

The princess-seam gown has a very full skirt: It is nearly a full circle. It is fully lined with cotton, which is cooler and more comfortable than a synthetic lining. The raglan sleeves are darted at the top to give them a bit of shape, and they are roomy enough for swing dancing (which was essential for the dance at our reception). The original pattern had a scoop neckline with a zipper down the back; but V-necks look better on me, and my husband likes buttons down the front. So I changed the pattern a bit and made a practice dress to try it out. It worked.


The ornamentation is handmade Irish crochet. My mother did most of it; I added a bit, as well. Each of the buttons has a tiny crocheted flower stitched to it, with a ring of opalescent beads in the center. (I made the buttons.) All of the threadwork has beads in it.



Here is the back. I made the snowflake-like motif in the center of the design and a few of the small flowers. Other than that, the credit goes to my mother. She made a large number of individual motifs and sent them to me, and I figured out a placement for each of them before hand-sewing them into place (and adding beads where necessary).

I did some other sewing for the wedding, too. Perhaps I will make some posts about that another time.