New Year Projects

Recently I discovered that my favorite skirt was threadbare at the waist. Didn’t look so nice or dressy anymore. I found some beautiful microfiber material on the JoAnn’s clearance rack for about $3 a yard, and used the skirt itself as a pattern. Fortunately, it was a pretty simple design—six squares. A front and back each consisted of three panels. The largest two squares measure from waist to knee. The four smaller squares measure from knee to calf. I hemmed the four smaller panels on two sides and sewed two to the front and two to the back. Then I sewed front to back and put in an elastic waistband. I think I spent more time thinking that I needed to do this project than it actually took to do.

Also last April, my favorite purse ever—a souvenir from Disneyland—was stolen. Crushed, I bought a cheap one that I could make do with until I found a better replacement. Well, this week, my not-so-favorite white purse (guess why it was on clearance?) was so dingy that I couldn’t stand it anymore. Being too cheap to take it to the cleaners, I decided to wash it. Um, bad idea. Won’t be using it again, as the brown leather trim leeched into the rest of the color and the whole thing looks moldy.

Fortunately, I used this as a good excuse to make myself exactly what I wanted. As I look back , it was a good thing that a couple of weeks before my patchwork plaid Mickey bag disappeared to who-knows-where, I had mended the nearly worn-out fabric handle and learned a little about how it was put together. I’ve also made my kids tote bags this year for their music books, sling bags for extra clothes, and quilted bags for ballet shoes. I guess I was finally ready for an experiment without a pattern.

I particularly loved the patchwork look of my Mickey purse, so I rummaged in my bin of fabric that hasn’t seen the light of day in several years. There I found large scraps of microfiber in brown and green. I cut two-inch squares and sewed them together like a quilt. Once it looked big enough, I sewed it into a bag shape. It looked like it needed something still. I cut out a long strip of brown for the handle and decided to add another long strip of brown for the top trim.

Then it needed a lining, and my biggest remaining piece was in green. I laid down the purse on top of it and cut two panels (front & back) about ½” bigger than the outside. It needed to be exactly the same size, plus a seam allowance. I also knew that I needed several pockets for all the junk I carry around, so I cut two more long strips of fabric out of the same material. Each strip was then sewn to a front or back panel, with vertical stitches to create the individual pockets. I also sewed on a couple of strips of Velcro to the larger pockets to make sure they stayed closed. The lining front and back was then sewn together, leaving a hole in the bottom to turn the whole project right-side-out when done.

I really didn’t want to mess with a zipper like my old Mickey purse had, but I thought a nice button closure would work. One more small strip of material with a buttonhole was the last needed addition. I sewed the handles and buttonhole strip to the patchwork bag, then added the brown strip of top trim. Finally, I sewed the lining to the outside, right-sides-together. After turning the purse right-side-out, I hand-stitched the lining closed. It has enough room for all the typical things you’d find in a woman’s purse, and plenty of space to throw in my wallet and camera (which goes everywhere with me).

I’m actually quite astonished that it turned out as well as it did. I think a lot of it has to do with having nice material. I’m actually such a sucker for beautiful material that I have piles of various kinds in my workroom and I constantly tell myself “I won’t buy any more until I use all this up.” Which works until the next time I see something to die for on the clearance rack . . . but that’s another story.

Unfortunately, I only have finished-project photos because I never really intended to post these to this blog at all. Not everyone sews, and fewer people are excited about making something without a pattern. But it’s by request of my husband that I write about my newest projects, just for the record. Thanks for challenging me, John. As much as anything, it shows frugality. My new skirt cost about $6 and the purse didn’t cost me a thing (except about four hours).

What I can say is that if you have a big enough need and an eye for observing a few important details, nearly any creation is possible if it’s worth the time to figure it out and do it. My teenage son kept asking me, “you didn’t have a pattern for this?” My reply, “No, but I knew what I wanted it to look like, so I kept fiddling with it until it seemed right.” He promptly took off with my bag of fleece scraps from the five pairs of Christmas PJ’s that I made last month and cut up squares for a patchwork pillow. Maybe I’ll post his progress instead—honestly, it’s a pattern I don’t think I’m ready to try.

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