Whenever Michelle from Keyka Lou releases a new pattern, I am ON IT. I love her patterns. They are super easy to sew, the materials are easy to find, the styles are always great, the items are useful and my customers really love them. I find it easy to alter them if necessary and I always find a way to give them my own personal touch.
The latest pattern is called the Strap Clutch and it is a very BIG clutch with a unique flap/strap closure. She has designed a flap that has a rectangle shaped opening created using the same technique as the handles on her Dewdrop Handbag, Bracelet Bag and Charm School Handbag. She then added a strap that comes from the bottom of the clutch with a velcro closure that loops into the flap's opening.
I love the ability to add some stitching to the bottom of the clutch and the technique she used to box the corners adds a lot of personality.
For my first attempt, I decided to try out my new Prince Charming fabrics by Tula Pink and a green cotton canvas for the body. Of course there are tons of different interfacings out there but my latest fave is Pellon 70 sew-in which I used to reinforce the body. It makes a really nice sturdy bag that is very light. For the flap and inside slip pocket, I used my Crafter's Choice fusible. I can usually read the pattern once and sew it by memory but this time, there are a few steps that were new to me so I printed out the instructions to follow.
I did make a few changes: I added fusible interfacing to the small pieces of fabric used to make the cut out in the flap pieces (I find it easier to work with that way and reinforces the opening a bit more) and I added a leather blossom to the strap instead of a button. I also omitted the buttons on the corners - mostly because I had nothing that matched! For the inside pockets, I just created 2 larger slip pockets instead of the 1 large pocket with 2 pen pockets. And last, I added a lobster clasp to attach keys so they don't get lost in the clutch.
My finished product:
I am certainly going to make more of these. I plan on trying some with a cross-body strap as well to make a mini-messenger. If you would like to buy the pattern, you can do so here. Make sure you read Michelle's blog as well. I noticed she added some posts with alterations to the original pattern. :)
The latest pattern is called the Strap Clutch and it is a very BIG clutch with a unique flap/strap closure. She has designed a flap that has a rectangle shaped opening created using the same technique as the handles on her Dewdrop Handbag, Bracelet Bag and Charm School Handbag. She then added a strap that comes from the bottom of the clutch with a velcro closure that loops into the flap's opening.
I love the ability to add some stitching to the bottom of the clutch and the technique she used to box the corners adds a lot of personality.
For my first attempt, I decided to try out my new Prince Charming fabrics by Tula Pink and a green cotton canvas for the body. Of course there are tons of different interfacings out there but my latest fave is Pellon 70 sew-in which I used to reinforce the body. It makes a really nice sturdy bag that is very light. For the flap and inside slip pocket, I used my Crafter's Choice fusible. I can usually read the pattern once and sew it by memory but this time, there are a few steps that were new to me so I printed out the instructions to follow.
I did make a few changes: I added fusible interfacing to the small pieces of fabric used to make the cut out in the flap pieces (I find it easier to work with that way and reinforces the opening a bit more) and I added a leather blossom to the strap instead of a button. I also omitted the buttons on the corners - mostly because I had nothing that matched! For the inside pockets, I just created 2 larger slip pockets instead of the 1 large pocket with 2 pen pockets. And last, I added a lobster clasp to attach keys so they don't get lost in the clutch.
My finished product:
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