Frame Purse Tutorial Part II

Frame Purse Tutorial (Part II)

By:

Samantha Sheppard*

1. Sewing the Purse

DO NOT SEW IN THE LINING FABRIC AT THIS POINT. THE LINING WILL BE ADDED LATER.

(a) Now, you will sew everything together. Place the right side of the outside fabric together and put the sew-in interfacing on the outsides. Sew the bag together starting at one of the hinge markings and finishing at the other hinge marking. Next, take the corner of your bag and flattenit. This will form a triangle. Make a measurement from the tip of the triangle. The length of this measurement will depend on how wide you want the bottom of you bag to be. Mark this measurement and sew along the marked line and trim seam. Do this on this other side of the bag. Sew the lining of the bag using these same methods. However, leave a large opening in the bottom of the lining. The opening will be used to pull the outside of the bag through once the outside and the lining are sewn together.




(b) Place the outside of the bag inside the lining so that the right sides of both bags are facing each other. Sew the outside of the purse to the lining at the top on each side. Then pull the outside of the purse right side out through the little opening that you left in the bottom of the lining. Then sew up the opening in the lining.



(c) Tuck the lining into the bag and iron as needed.

2. Gluing the Frame to the Purse

(a) This part can be a bit tricky. You want to use enough glue so that the frame will stay in place, but you don’t want to use so much that it squeezes out of the frame and gets all over your fabric (and you can’t get it off).

(b) Start by filling one side of the frame with a continuous line of glue. Then, starting with the edges, place the purse into the frame. You will want to use something like scissors or a letter opener to gently push the purse into the frame. Let the glue dry for at least 30 minutes before attempting to repeat this step on the other side of the purse.

(c) Wait another 30 minutes and clean up any glue that got on your frame by gently scratching it with something (my finger nails work great).

(d) Let the purse dry overnight before using it.

Now you are done. Enjoy your purse!

* For questions and comments, contact me at KassiOh1@gmail.com.

Frame Purse Tutorial Part I

Frame Purse Tutorial (Part I)
By:
Samantha Sheppard

1. Introduction
This tutorial will show you how to make a frame purse. You typically cannot buy patterns for frame purses because there are so many different frames available and it would be difficult to find a pattern that actually fit your frame. Thus, in order to make a frame purse, you must make your own pattern (which is actually pretty easy). This tutorial will cover the following:

(a) Where to purchase frames.
(b) Fabric selection.
(c) How to construct a pattern for your frame.
(d) Sewing the purse and attaching it to the frame.

2. Materials
(a) Paper for your pattern.
(b) Pencil or sharpie pen.
(c) Frame.
(d) ½ yard of fabric for the outside of the purse.
(e) ½ yard of fabric for the lining of the purse.
(f) ½ yard of strong sew-in interfacing.
(g) Strong fabric glue.
(h) Coordinating thread.

3. Where to Purchase Frames.
Unfortunately, I have not found any of these purse frames at my local fabric stores. However, frames can be purchased online at several locations:

(a) http://www.u-handbag.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=14
(b) http://stores.mikkiehk.com/StoreFront.bok (this is where I purchased mine – great selection and price!)
(c) http://www.tallpoppycraft.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=32

4. Fabric Selection
The fabric for the outside of your frame purse can be almost any type. You can even choose a more thin or flimsy fabric because we will be using interfacing to make the bag stronger.

5. Making the Pattern

(a) Take a piece of paper and lay your frame in the middle. Outline the outside (not the inside) of the frame. Make marks at the bottom of the hinges.

(b) Next, draw the pattern around the frame. This is where you can get creative. I chose to make a smaller, squarish bag, but if you want a more rounded and puffy bag, you can draft your pattern this way. Also, I included a ½ inch seam allowance. Keep that in mind when drafting your pattern.

(c) You now have to mark on your patter where the hinges will go. This is really important. If you get this part wrong your frame will not fit on your bag properly. Put the top corner of your purse frame onto the top corner of your pattern so that you have lined it up with the sides of your pattern. Then measure ½ inch (or whatever seam allowance you have chosen) from the frame hinge. Now you can cut your pattern out.

(d) Using the pattern that you just drafted, you will cut 2 pieces of:
(i) The outside fabric.
(ii) The lining fabric.
(iii) The fusible interfacing (iron this onto the wrong side of the outside fabric).
(iv) The heavy sew-in interfacing.