Purses

I've done a little bit more work on a couple of the purses I started. I'd already sewn up one of the slubbed white ones, and now I've added the button and button-hole. I thought doing large-ish blanket stitch around the button hole would suit the colours and style of this purse.

I used some slubbed wool I bought quite a few years ago to make the felt for this. I added some extra threads and bits of silk to the felt. I can't find a photo of it, but this piece is very similar, and this is a close up of the texture.

I used a cream vintage button, and kept the natural uneven edges again for the back pocket.

The other purse I worked on was one made from a piece of felt and squares of silk paper. It was one of my favourite pieces, the silk squares are so shiny. I'm still undecided about the button, I'm thinking of using this vintage one:

This is the back:

And the inside, I like these purses with two pockets because you get to see more felt than on the zipper ones:

Grrr! Buttonholes!

It took me a while, but I finally finished the two purses I was working on made from felt with nuno felted strips of cotton gauze. I don't like doing buttonholes, they're so small and fiddly, so I put off doing them. I could practise with the sewing machine, I suppose, but I think I'd just make a mess of it :)  I can't remember now which was the one I first started working on, but this is the first one I finished:

Where possible, I kept the natural edges of the felt. I'm sure to some people this makes it look 'wonky', but I prefer 'unique' :) I bought quite a few new embroidery threads recently, so I had lots of colours to pick the right ones for sewing the different parts.

It actually turned out a lot bigger than I thought, and my chunky camera fits into it! Plenty of room for lots of cash ;)

This is the second one I finished. It's slightly smaller than the first one, but still my slimmer camera fits in easily. They both look very similar to each other, the biggest difference being the natural edge on the flaps. This is the back, with the flap open:

As much as I always want to keep everything I make, I often find it hard to use things I make. It sounds silly, but I hate to 'waste' things, it's that same kind of feeling you get when you have a nice new notebook or journal, and don't want to spoil it by scratchy handwriting and wonky sketches. So, rather than stockpiling things 'too nice to use' in a box, I'm going to put them on etsy. The first thing I listed was a shoulder bag I finished earlier this year:

I made it using spare pieces of felt and offcuts that I saved, and a gorgeous piece of fabric to line the inside flap. It's a flat 'passport' style bag and fits a camera and coin purse comfortably.

I keep being told I shouldn't feel embarrassed or awkward about self-promotion, so if you're interested in either of the purses, the bag or maybe you were thinking of buying a handmade notebook cover or camera case, please visit my etsy store :)  The bag is already listed and once I've measured the purses and weighed them for postage, I'll add those too.
And if you don't see exactly what you want, I'm happy to take commissions for custom orders :)

Weekend Projects

I discovered the other day just how much time it can take to list things on etsy. I thought I'd put together a pack of fabric samples from all the fabrics I used in my e-book, thinking it couldn't take that long, but it did :) I enjoyed going through all my fabric though. I think if I list fabric or fibre supplies again though, I will put together a pack while I'm getting together the fibres for a project, get some extras out and build one up. It might work better like that anyway because I often work on a colour theme and get out similar coloured organzas, silks, embellishment fibres and novelty yarns.

It was nice and tidy once I'd put everything away though (and picked up a load of fabric threads!) so I had a good look through my box of felt pieces to make things with. I had quite a large piece I’d made with black merino and strips of coloured cotton gauze (sometimes called cotton scrim). The back was blues and greens with silk embellishments. I thought it’d make a nice purse or wallet, with two sections. I’ve almost finished it, I just need to add the button and button hole.

I almost used the blue side on the outside, but I'm glad I didn't

Trying out a button:

I cut out some pieces to make another one, and this is almost finished now as well.

I also had time to make this notebook cover from a nuno felted piece I made a while ago:

The silk piece had an unusual pattern, and it made a really nice texture when it was felted.

I'm running out of cotton threads now though, so I might have to have a look at the Rainbow Girl's shop for some more gorgeous hand dyed ones. She sells lots of gorgeous threads and fabric and fibres for felting, including dyed cotton scrim.