In this post I’m reviewing the Famous Maker DIY Clutch project by Caroline of SewCanShe.com. This clutch reminds me of a purse I owned as a teen and I’ve been wanting to make one ever since I discovered this tutorial. I even made some double-fold bias tape especially for this project about a year ago.

The online tutorial and downloadable pattern PDF for this project are available here:

DIY Clutch Bag Pattern

Note this pattern is for personal use only.

For the purposes of my review, I’m going to summarize the tutorial, tell you what I did differently (if anything) and share my general thoughts about the sewing the project.

The tutorial begins with photos and a description of the the project. Next is a link to download the pattern, a list of the necessary materials and hardware, and a cutting guide.

Step 0 Gather your materials

I used fusible fleece instead of foam stabilizer and 7/8” metal hardware instead of 3/4” metal hardware. I didn’t change the width of either the D-ring tabs or the skinny strap. I also used the 1/2” wide double fold bias tape that I had made especially for this project.

Step 1 Created quilted exterior pieces

I used one layer of fusible fleece instead of flexible foam stabilizer. I didn’t have any basting spray so I basted both long edges and one short edge of the quilted panel with a 1/4” seam allowance prior to quilting. I used my roller foot to keep the layers moving together together and always started sewing at the basted short end.

Here’s a photo of my quilted front, back and gusset pieces.

Step 2 Sew the zippered pocket

I always use my narrow zipper foot for sewing regular zippers. My zippered pocket came together quickly.

Step 3 Make bag front

Caroline gives a great time to notch the gusset piece along the sections that will fit around the curves of the front piece. Doing so made it a breeze to attach these two pieces. When I sewed the binding (bias tape in my case) I used the bias tape method of sewing along the fold nearest to the edge of the fabric then folding the bias tape around the raw edges and sewing along the edge. (Alternatively I could have used my bias tape foot.) Doing so may have made my clutch narrower overall than if I had sewed the bias tape on with a 1/4” seam allowance and then folded it and sewn along the edge.

Step 4 Sew & attach D-ring tabs

Making the D-ring tabs was easy. It took me a while to figure out how Caroline attached the binding to make the top of the front panel curve around. I have to admit that I made sewing on the binding unnecessarily difficult.

Here’s a photo of my completed front panel.

Step 5 Attach back panel

When I got to this section of the tutorial, I discovered that I missed a step. I hadn’t basted my zipper pocket in place yet so I did so before proceeding.

I wish I had snipped both long edges of the gusset strip earlier. Getting my sewing shears and sewing scissors into such a narrow workspace to do so at this step was tricky.

The first step of binding the back panel is done from the exterior of the bag. I stitched the sections near the D-rings by hand as I couldn’t see the D-ring or D-ring tabs. I didn’t want to break my needle or sew the D-ring tabs down. After I folded the binding over to the front, it was much easier to sew all the way around with my sewing machine.

Here’s a photo of my attached back panel.

Step 6 Attach closure

I used fusible fleece instead of felt to hide the prongs of my magnetic snap. I also wanted to hide both parts of the magnetic snap with fabric. I followed the instructions as written for the half of the magnetic snap that is attached to the bag flap.

For the part of the snap attached to the bag, I fused a circle of fusible fleece to a circle of fabric that matched the interior. I glued them over the magnetic snap’s prongs, fabric side up. I also hand sewed the perimeter of the circle, making sure not to go all the way the quilted panel to the front.

Step 7 Make & attach strap

I consider 50” to be a extra long strap, but I didn’t know how short I wanted my strap to be. I cut a 4” x 4” piece of scrap fabric and a 1.5” x 3” piece of fusible fleece then followed the instructions in the  Lagniappe Peddler Fabric Tri-glide PDF for making a fabric tri-glide. This would allow me to adjust the length of the strap when I’m using my DIY Clutch Bag.

Here’s a photo of my completed strap:

That’s it there are only seven steps!

Here are some photos of my finished DIY Clutch Bag:

Conclusion

I really like how it turned out and would make this project again. Making a fake label to hide the magnetic snap’s prongs is a great idea. Using a fabric that matches the binding/bias tape and strap to do so, really sets off the bag. A removable strap makes this clutch versatile. The D-ring tabs hang down, making them un-obstructive when not using the skinny strap.

Share you thoughts on this project and/or my project review. Comment below and Pin me for later!

Tanya

 

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