Curvy Clutch/Wristlet

I just finished up this bag tonight! I was waiting for the purse hardware to come in the mail. 🙂

This clutch is actually a Christmas gift for a huge Cubs fan. At this point in time, apparently all the cotton Chicago Cubs fabric is out of print. I saw that they had it on ebay at $30 for 1/4 yard. Huh. At $120/yard, the fabric better have some real gold in it. So, I got inventive and used fabric from these bad boys…

Yeah, that’s right baby, I used a pair of men’s 2XXL boxer shorts (I left the tag on as proof that they haven’t been worn, haha).

The pattern that I used to make the clutch was the Curvy Clutch/Wristlet from Keyka Lou on Etsy.

Description from the pattern – This clutch is super cute in a print, chic in a solid, or it can be very elegant when made from silk, or other luxury fabrics. It makes a great handbag for a night out, cosmetic bag, special gift for a friend, or a pretty clutch for your DIY wedding. The pattern include instructions for two styles–clutch or wristlet–and THREE SIZES.

Fabrics – There are 3 different sizes of bag that you can choose from, and it takes 1/2-1/4 yards of the exterior fabric and 1/4 yard of the lining fabric, as well as 2 different types of interfacing. I used the fabric from the boxer shorts, as well as some red polka dot scrap fabric that I had.

Illustrations – The photos that accompanied the steps were okay; I sort of wished that there had been more, as a few of the steps I just guessed what exactly I was supposed to do. Maybe that’s just me.

Pattern Pieces – There were only 2 pattern pieces to cut (2 for each of the 3 sizes), and no taping together of pieces needed. The pockets and straps are just rectangular cuts.

I wanted the bag to be stiff, so instead of the canvas or fleece sew-in lining, I use fusible Pellon Peltex. I am happy the bag holds its own shape, but it was a pain to sew around the top of the bag…I had to smash it and crunch it just so that it could fit on my machine since it wouldn’t slip over the arm of my sewing machine. I am not sure if I would do that again….I would probably use the Peltex for the bag body but not for the flap. For the interlining of the red fabric, I just used a fusible woven.

The other modification I had to make, since the bag was so stiff, was that I had to make a hole in the bottom of the lining fabric to pull the exterior out from after I had sewn around on the top of the bag to finish it. The pattern instructions called for leaving a 3″ opening on the top of the bag to pull the exterior through the lining fabric, but my bag was so stiff there was no way it was coming through.

Conclusion – This would be great for a beginner. I was very happy with how the bag turned out. It was a quick sew (except for my stresses over fitting it through my machine at the end). I am planning on making another one for an additional Christmas gift.

P.S. I’m also posting this as Amy Lou Who’s Sew and Tell! Come post a project every week!