There are other tutorials out there for a foldover clutch. I liked the idea of adding a stripe down the center and adding some fun leather and stitching details.
If you would like to sew up one yourself, keep reading.
Materials I used:
Main body was a neutral colored 7oz. Duck Canvas
Stripe was a non-fray synthetic suede
Lining was a cotton scrap
Leather accents were from a used purse, but could also use any scrap leather or leather from craft store.
Craft weight interfacing
10” zipper in coordinating color, I used mine from a old purse.
Coordinating thread, I used a extra strong thread strength, this made the thread thicker which makes it show up better in detailing.
First you need to cut out all your pieces. I find a rotary mat and cutter work great for square/rectangular shapes.
In your main color fabric cut:
(4) 4 1/4” x 14” strips
In your coordinating suede fabric cut:
(2) 2 1/2” x 14” strips
In your lining fabric cut:
(2) 10” x 14” strips
In your leather fabric cut:
(1) 8”x4” strip, (1) 1 1/2” x 11” strip
In your craft weight interfacing cut:
(2) 8” x 10” strips
Sew your main body strips to your suede strip with right sides together using 1/4” seams. You are making two panels one for the front and one for the back, each one is identical.
Iron your front and back panels with the seams toward the main body color, as seen above.
Make sure you test your fabrics on an iron first before you iron the finished product, as you can see above, the suede I bought did not take to the iron and shrank up.
Top stitch 1/8” from center stripe, on each side of strip, on both front and back panels.
Now we are going to create the hand strap.
Take your strip of leather and fold it in half, right side together, sew along the long length. Turn leather right side out, put seam to middle back of tube. I left my small edges raw, since the fabric did not fray and I knew I would be sewing those edges onto the front panel.
Edge stitch on each side of the leather strap. (Unlike my picture above shows, do this step first before you sew the strap onto the bag).
Sew leather strap onto front panel, creating a rectangular pattern on each end. Make sure you have enough room to comfortable fit your whole hand through the strap. Center the strap and bring it down approximately 5” from the edge.
After I sew on the strap I tested it with my hand and realized I needed to make the spacing smaller, so I sewed on a couple more lines of stitching on each end.
Next we are going to sew on the zipper. Pin the right side of the zipper onto the right side of the front panel (make sure you line up the edge of the panel closest to the leather strap you just installed on the front).
Place the right side of the lining onto the wrong side of the zipper, but right side of the front panel, pin through all three layers and baste stitch as close to the zipper as possible.
Pull the fabric away from zipper that you just sewed to expose the opposite side of the zipper and repeat these same steps on the other side of the zipper to create the back panel.
Iron on your fusible interfacing to the exterior front and back panel on the bottom edge (opposite the zipper).
Take your 1 1/2” x 11” leather strip and cut out the center 1/2” of it so that the zipper would peek through (as seen below).
Sew your leather strip as close as possible to the zipper on both sides, you will be sewing through both the exterior panels and the lining on each side. Then sew again on the out edge of the leather strip, do not sew down the short sides as this should be overhanging the fabric.
Next step you can do either of two ways.
1. Make sure to have the zipper open and sew the front panel to the back panel with right sides together, do not sew the lining together in this step. Sew along both sides and bottom, making sure to not sew in the top leather strip over the zipper that overhangs the sides. Sew the lining together with wrong sides together and trim seems with a set of pinking shears or zigzag the stitches to keep the cotton from fraying.
or
2. Make sure to have the zipper open and sew the front panel to the back panel having the lining attached, so the sewing sandwich should be wrong side of lining to wrong side of back panel, right side of back panel to right side of front panel, wrong side of front panel to wrong side of lining. Sew all four layers of fabric together on the sides and bottom. When near the top make sure to not sew in the top leather strip that overhangs.
In each of these scenarios you will have an exposed stitching in the lining, but as shown below the bag is so deep you will not be able to see it.
Turn the bag right side out through the zipper. Sew down the small sides of the top leather strip, making sure you tuck any exposed edges of front or back panel, so that they will not be seen once you sew the sides together of the leather.
Now go on and enjoy your new bag that you accomplished yourself!
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