Thursday, October 11, 2012

I'm accessorizing!

Those of you who know me in person know that I don't care too much about wardrobe, purses, accessories, etc.  I generally wear the same pair of jeans every day, I do not wear dresses, I have silver stud earrings that don't come out.... you get the picture!  Well things are changing people (at least for this weekend :)  I'm going to a wedding in Seattle and:
  • I bought a DRESS!
  • I bought earrings
  • I bought new shoes
  • I made a purse!


This is the Pleated Wristlet from Michelle Patterns.  I've made this pattern once before, last time the medium version and this time the small.  If you visit my blog post from the first time I made it, you'll read a bit of a review of the pattern so I won't re-hash all of that.  Two things I did differently this time were that I did not quilt the lining, rather used a layer of flannel to give just a little bit of weight to the lining, and also I did not interface the wrist strap at all.


I used a heavyweight fusible interfacing for all of the exterior pieces, which gives the bag some very nice structure, however I find that because you have to 'turn' the bag right side out when finished assembly, it crumples things up and the bag ends up a bit wrinkly.  I don't know if that is the fault of the specific interfacing I used or if it just comes with the territory.  Any thoughts?  I tried to iron the finished product as best I could and it's okay, just not as smooth as I'd like.  The fact that I used a solid colour for the exterior seems to accentuate wrinkles as well.


This is not a Kona solid, but this colour is comparable to Kona Grass.  I love it!  And guess what?  It matches my new dress.  hehe


A medium gray zip and a fun gray/cream dotted lining finishes the project off.


The small version of this pattern is very small.  It will be big enough to fit just a few necessities for the wedding.  Maybe if you're lucky, I'll share a few photos of the ensemble next week sometime.  My 10yr old is going to be my date, and he's going to look spiffy!


Linked up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts.

31 comments:

Lucy | Charm About You said...

I love it and the colour is gorgeous! We need photos of the dress :)

Kelsey said...

Adorable bag!! Love the color :)

CitricSugar said...

Very nice! Your seams are gorgeous, too. Beautiful job. Definitely need dress pics…

I'm not too fussy myself - in non-working hours, I'm typically in the same pair of jeans, myself but I don't mind getting gussied up either. I'm usually clueless about shoes, though….

Susan said...

Its a fabulous colour! And it doesn't look wrinkly from here! We must see you dressed for the wedding...top to toe please!

Alisa said...

I'm a jeans girl too but I do dress up every Sunday for church. As soon as I am home I change though. :-) Maybe you'll actually like dressing up and try it again. Please do show us! And I like the bag. I have the same thing when turning pouches/bags the right way out. They get all wrinkled and I just iron it as best as I can. Your looks pretty good to me.

felicity said...

Gorgeous clutch! I demand outfit photos!!! :)

p.s. nice photos, too! :)

Rosa said...

It`s gorgeous!!

Jenelle said...

What a perfectly sewn little clutch! I don't see wrinkling at all to be honest. Have fun at the wedding! I'll wave a you across the water. :)

Krista Schneider said...

it's so CUTE! love the color, perfect lining. have fun!

Kristan said...

This is really beautiful and looks professional. You did a wonderful job. If the pattern allows it, you could sell these in your shop!

Poppyprint said...

It's beautiful! I love the recessed zipper. I think I'll buy this pattern. I haven't seen it made up before. I'm not seeing the wrinkles, but I totally hear you - that interfacing drives me crazy when it wrinkles. I think it's key not to use any steam as is shrinks the interfacing. Have a great time at the wedding!!

Maria said...

Your bag is beautiful and I love the colour. I'm sure you're going to look wonderful. Would love to see photos of you all dressed up.

Bea said...

I love it in a solid color! Don't be hard on yourself, the wrinkles are almost invisible... Have fun at the wedding with your date and take pics so we get to see you!

Grandma G said...

What a cute little clutch! I like the pleats and the turned-up corners at the bottom! I'd have never noticed the wrinkles if you hadn't mentioned them. But yeah, fusible interfacing can be a pain for wrinkling. I try not to use it. I like to fasten sew-in with Pellon SF-101, which gets fused to the main fabric just in the seam allowances.

Katie B said...

This looks so professional! Great job! I love the grass green and the polka dots.

Lauren said...

Wow it's really cute. Love the inside. You did a great job on the zipper....they always confound me. Have fun at the wedding,

Unknown said...

Beautiful,
Have a nice weekend ..

Pieces of Cotton said...

That's awesome! Very smart looking purse, and you did a fabulous job - really looks professionally done. You should be very proud.

Chelsea said...

It's perfect Heather! Really, I can't see a single wrinkle and the stitching looks so professional! Have fun at the wedding.

Suzanne said...

I love it! I want to see the whole ensemble :)

Kat said...

What a sweet purse! I use Pellon interfacing and I think the wrinkles come with the territory... but I don't see any on your purse. It's fabulous!

Patti said...

It looks perfect to me, heather! You'll look smashing with your spiffy date! Have a great time!

Karen H said...

The clutch turned out awesome! I plan to start a messenger bag for my son tomorrow. Any words of advice for bag sewing?

Live a Colorful Life said...

such a cute fabric combination and love the grey zipper. yes, please share photos of your ensemble. I'm a jeans/t-shirt girl too!

Becky said...

That turned out amazing... very professional. Not sure what you mean about wrinkles...

LC said...

If there are wrinkles in it, I sure can't see them. It looks fantastic! I love the color.

Toni said...

That color is so great! Your purse looks fabulous, Heather, and we definitely need an action shot with you in your dress!

LimeRiot said...

I love the shape and color of the purse!! It's fantastic.

elnorac said...

What a fantastic bag you've made! Thanks for posting about it. I'm so happy to hear I'm not the only one who isn't too bothered about clothing and accessories!

Hope you had a great time at the wedding.

Melinda said...

Love this! Gotta go check out the pattern!

Debbie said...

Oh this looks beautifully made! It's just darling. And I took Sara Lawson's "Advanced Bags" class at ss and she mentioned how some interfacings 'crinkle' after they are fused more that others. Do you know the exact # of the interfacing you used? I could check if it's in my notes from her class...