written by marieann

I made this cute little purse for a swap. It’s perfect when you just need to bring your wallets and keys. It’s really quick and the possibilities are endless.

Materials:

One 16″ x 8.5″ piece of outside fabric (stiff fabric works best; if you want to use a thin cotton, then you need a laywer of interfacing)
Another piece of the outside fabric approximately 4″x8″ for the handle
One 16″ x 8.5″ of lining fabric (thiner than the outside fabric)
Piece of ribbon approximately 12 inches
Button

Tools:
Sewing machine
Needle (to sew by hand)
Glue gun (not necessary but useful)
Iron
Scissors

Directions:
1. Take the outside piece and fold it together right sides so that it makes a short fat (8 x 8.5″) rectangle.

2. Sew both the edges shut with 1/2″ seams.

3. Keep the purse inside out. Press the corners into a triangle and sew across the corners 2″ from the point (this image is a good guide).

4. Repeat for the lining of the bag. Now you have two square bag pieces. Keep both pieces inside out.

5. Fold over the top of each piece about half an inch. You should be turning the tops toward the outside (to the wrong side).

6. Machine baste the liner bag to the outside bag along folder corners so they won’t separate every time you pull stuff out of your purse. Sew right on top of the last stitches that made your square corners. You should be lining up the wrong sides with the two bottoms flat against each other. Invert the outside bag around the lining and you have your main purse finished. (Do not top-stitch the bags together yet.)

7. Make the strap. Press and pin the strap in half, wrong sides together. Sew along the long side. Turn the strap inside out and press with the seam in the center of one of the sides (this way no seam shows on the top of the strap).

8. Pin the strap inside the purse. The raw ends are to be tucked between the lining and outside bags. Also, pin the bags together at edges. Top stitch all around the outside of the bags.

9. Make a ribbon flower. I used this easy tutorial located here. I hot glued the flower to my bag (because I was lazy) but it would probably be best if you attached it to a pin and then pinned that flower to your bag so you could remove when you wash the purse.