Snap Frame Purse

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• Step 1

  Cut out fabric pieces and apply interfacing

  Cut out the following pieces from the main fabric and interfacing: two lower purse
  sections and two upper purse sections. From the lining
  fabric cut out two lower purse and two upper purse sections
  and one pocket. Transfer the pattern markings to the fabric.
  Apply the interfacing to the wrong side of the main fabric
  pieces following the manufacturer’s instructions.

• 

  Step 2

  Gather the lower purse sections

  On each of the two outer, lower purse sections
  machine-tack two rows of gathering stitches
  between the two marked dots, 5mm and 1.5cm (.
  and ⅝in) from the top edge; leave long thread tails.
  Pull up the gathers to fit the lower edge of the upper
  piece, distribute them evenly and pin the gathered
  edge to the upper purse section, right sides
  together, matching the notches and side edges. Tack
  if you wish, then stitch with a 1.2cm (1/2 in) seam
  allowance. Pull out the lower gathering stitches.

• 

  Step 3

  Add the trim
  Before you sew the purse together you can add any decoration or
  embellishment you like. For the purse shown, topstitch or handstitch a length of ribbon over the seam joining the upper and lower sections on the front and back sections.
  To make a little bow cut a 12cm (5in) strip of ribbon. Fold the edges
  in towards the centre and overlap them slightly; hold them together
  with a few hand stitches. Wrap a 5cm (2in) strip of ribbon around the centre of the bow and hand-stitch it in place.

• 

  Step 4

  Add tails to bow
  Cut two 5cm (2in) strips of ribbon and snip out a triangle from one
  end of each to minimize fraying. Hand-stitch these to one section of
  the purse (to be the front), then sew the bow on top to hide the raw
  ends. Add a button, if you like.

• 

  Step 5

  Join front and back of purse
  With right sides facing, pin (and tack) and stitch the
  front and back lower purse sections together, starting at
  the seam joining the upper and lower sections and taking
  1.2cm (. in) seam allowance. Don’t forget to reversestitch
  for security.

• 

  Step 6

  Add depth to purse
  With the purse still wrong side out, use your fingers to press the
  seam allowances open at the side and bottom. Open the purse and
  fold it so that the side seam is touching the bottom seam. To ensure
  that the seams are aligned exactly, stick a pin though the middle
  of the side seam and check that it comes through the centre of the
  bottom seam; adjust it if necessary.

• 

  Step 7

  Stitch across corners
  Pin the seams together and then stitch across them as
  shown, from one folded edge to the other where the line
  will measure about 2cm (.in), reversing back over this
  short seam to secure it. Trim off the excess fabric

• 

  Step 8

  Make lining and pocket
  Join the top and bottom lining sections with a 1.2cm
  (.in) seam. Press the seam allowances towards the
  lower section and topstitch close to the seamline.
  Fold the pocket section in half with right sides facing and
  stitch the side edges together, taking 1.2cm (.in) seam
  allowance. Trim off the excess fabric and cut across the
  corners at the folded edge. Turn the pocket right side out
  and press it flat.

• 

  Step 9

  Attach pocket and complete lining
  Pin the pocket to one lining section, matching up the centre
  points and aligning the raw edges; pin in place. Topstitch close to
  the side and lower edges, remembering to reverse-stitch at the
  top corners.
  Sew the lining together in the same way as you did for the outer
  purse in Step 5, but leave a 6cm (2 . in) gap along the bottom
  edge for turning the purse right side out later.

• 

  Step 10

  Pin outer purse and lining together
  Match the top outer and lining sections of the purse with right sides
  together, placing the lining piece with the pocket against the outer piece
  with the bow, and pin them in place.

• 

  Step 11

  Mark frame outline
  Place the purse frame over one side of the lining and
  draw around its outside edge to act as a stitch guide.
  Stitch the lining and outer purse sections together
  along this line.

• 

  Step 12

  Join upper purse and lining
  Stitch the lining and outer purse sections together along the marked line. Trim
  the seam allowances to 5mm (. in) and notch the corners to reduce bulk.
  Turn the purse right side out through the gap in the bottom of the lining. It may
  take a bit of fiddling around to get the two layers correctly positioned against
  each other. And you may want to press the seams flat along the top edges.

• 

  Step 13

  Attach purse to frame
  Apply only a small amount of glue to the inside of the frame, then slip the
  edge of the purse into it. Glue only one straight edge of the frame at a time,
  holding it firmly with your fingers until the glue has set and the purse is
  securely fixed before moving on to the next section. If your fabric is on the
  thin side, you may need to insert string or cord into the frame to help hold
  the fabric in place.

• Step 14

  Variation Leather purse
  Before cutting out the pieces as in Step 1 of the main version, cut a piece of interfacing slightly larger than the pattern pieces and iron it to the wrong side of the leather; draw around the templates with chalk, then cut out the pieces. (First interfacing and then
  cutting makes it easier to get a clean cut.) Cut the lining pieces as for the main version.

  Form the pleats
  Instead of gathering the lower sections of the purse, fold pleats in the leather, following the markings on the template. The folds should point out to the side edges. Hold them in place with paper clips as shown.

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Steph. · Reading, England, GB · 212 projects 16th September 2014

How do you make the illustrations so clear? Do you use a computer? xx

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