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Cost
$ $ $ $ $
Difficulty
• • • •
Time
1h00

Happy Birthday To Me!
I saw this purse on the Forever21 website and decided that I could do that. So without going to the store to purchase a single thing I made this as my birthday gift to myself.

Important Note :

In hindsight I kind of wish I had used an interfacing when making this. The canvas holds its shape fairly well on its own but interfacing would have really helped. If you aren't going to use canvas I strongly suggest you use interfacing on yours.

Posted by PinkWeeds from Omaha, Nebraska, United States • Published See PinkWeeds's 173 projects »
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  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 1
    Step 1

    First you're going to want to make your pattern. I traced a circle that was approx the size I wanted my purse to be and used that as my foundation. I wont lie to you- making the pattern is the uphill part of this project once you finish that its easy.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 2
    Step 2

    To discover how long you'll need your side pannel to be, mark a spot on your circle and roll your circle up a long piece of paper. Once you reach that same spot again mark another knotch. Cut out that piece with a 3.5 inch width.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 3
    Step 3

    Place your zipper on the piece you just cut out and cut off at that point.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 4
    Step 4

    Take the piece that you cut to the size of your zipper and make another pattern piece that same size but an inch wider. So it should be 4.5 inches wide by however long your zipper is. Note: my zipper was 9 inches long.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 5
    Step 5

    Fold that piece in half and cut directly down the center. Note you'll only need one piece of this.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 6
    Step 6

    So if there is any confusion at what you will have for pattern pieces here they are:

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 7
    Step 7

    Whew! Whipe the sweat from your brow because the hard part is so over. Everything should move pretty fast from this point on.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 8
    Step 8

    First decide which piece is going to be your front piece and attatch your applique to the center of that.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 9
    Step 9

    Next you're going to take your two pieces for your zipper. There are tons of ways to sew a zipper on and it seems everyone has their own way of doing it. What I did to make this super easy was sew my two pieces together using a basting stitch. I then ironed my seams open and placed my zipper on top of the seams. I sewed it down and seam ripped the the seam open so my zipper was revealed. This was way fast and super easy. (if you're at all confused by this I recommend checking out the whitney sews video for her t-shirt dress as she uses the same technique in that video)

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 10
    Step 10

    Next take your long piece and pin and sew the right ends together to your zipper piece. I also recommend you press open your seams and sew those down.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 11
    Step 11

    Your piece should look something more or less like this.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 12
    Step 12

    Next pin and sew the front piece of your circle to the side pannel.

    Right sides should be together- wrong sides should be facing out.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 13
    Step 13

    Next open up your zipper and pin and sew the second side to your purse. Note: everything should be inside out while you are doing this. Right sides all should face together.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 14
    Step 14

    Because I'm not using a serger and I really didn't want the inside of my purse to be like the inside of the pumpkin I went back over my seams with a zig-zag stitch to help prevent fraying.

  • How to make a shoulder bag. Round Nautical Purse - Step 15
    Step 15

    Turn your purse right side out and on either side of your zipper sew your chain for straps.

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Comments

pauline
pauline · 14 projects
How do you put the strap on this one? Sorry for such a noobish question.
Reply
Emma B.
Emma B.
Absolutely gorgeous and I actually do have a nautical applique in my stash to use up, and stripey red/white fabric yay me!
Reply
Scully-Anne M.
Scully-Anne M.
thank you! i needed this!
Reply
Syl
Syl · Bayamón, Bayamón, PR · 15 projects
love it
Reply
Amanda L.
Amanda L. · 1 project
THANK YOU FOR POSTING!

Would this work with a lighter material if interfacing was applied? I'm thinking about using a sweatshirt or even a t-shirt for mine, because I cannot find the right color canvas =(
Reply
CalendarGirl
CalendarGirl · 15 projects
Love it!
Reply
Create&Destroy
Create&Destroy · Chicago, Illinois, US · 2 projects
Aw, it's cute.
Reply
*Misscrafty*
*Misscrafty* · 5 projects
I've been wanting to make a purse like this for ages, thanks for the tutorial Happy
Reply
Juliet Vickio
Juliet Vickio · Houston, Texas, US · 6 projects
I love Forever21! It's awesome to find a tutorial for one of their items! I really like this purse too Happy I might try it myself
Reply
Alf
Alf · Puerto Rico, Misiones Province, AR · 17 projects
Oh I forgot Happy Birthday *<Happy
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