Saturday, March 9, 2013

Rally Stripe Clutch

Yesterday afternoon, I told everybody in my immediate circle of family and friends that I was going to do the ironing.  So of course, I made a clutch instead.


I ended up having a very busy week that didn't leave a lot of time for crafting after I made the lining for my coat.  Yesterday I just felt like I had to make something.  This idea had been floating around in my head for a while, so I decided to knock it out.

I've had scraps of this stone-colored leather since last year, and I really wanted to make a clutch out of them because I love the color, but they were too small to make an entire purse from.  When I got this yellow leather recently, I thought they would go well together.  I do believe I was right!  In retrospect, it reminds me of this mani I did last year.   And the shoes I wore here.

I didn't have any fabrics for lining that really went with these two colors, so I decided to use some leftovers from the pieced fabric I made for my quilt.  I sort of wish I'd used something different, but no one will see it but me.


The stone leather is quite thick and difficult to sew because it's also stretchy and a little sticky.  I ended up having to sew all the seams with tissue paper both above and beneath the work, in addition to using my roller foot.  And because the seams were so thick, it was very difficult to keep it all positioned together while sewing.  I ended up with my stripes not matching at the bottom.  But that's OK - I still like it.


I purposely chose a part of the yellow skin that was wrinkled and a little distressed looking, to create more contrast with the very smooth stone leather.


I'm really happy with how this turned out, despite the small flaws.  I'm thinking I'd like to make some more clutches that combine colors, rather than being one solid color.  I'm also hoping to venture into making some zippered leather clutches, but I haven't worked up the courage yet!


23 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! I love the colour combination, it's one of my favourites.

    I do that all the time - say I'm going to do such and such around the house and then end up either crafting or browsing the internet and reading about crafting!

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    1. I have to admit, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who does that!

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  2. Ironing?! What is that?! I only iron when I sew or when absolutely necessary....
    Love your purse. I have quite a fondness for little purses with clicky tops. So cute.
    I am yet to sew with leather though - interesting...

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    1. Hehehe - I iron EVERYTHING!

      Aren't kisslock purses great? I love them too :-)

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  3. Lovely. I've been pondering using that colour combo, it's really nice! I really want to make a purse with a kiss-lock like that. :)

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  4. Very nice - and I've found that household chores are much harder to do now that I've found sewing! No one is going to notice the mismatched stripes at the bottom unless they are a) VERY short or b) WAY TOO nosy.

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    1. So true! I've really been letting things slide lately too. Tomorrow I'm definitely cleaning the whole house! (or not)

      Took the clutch out to dinner last night and nobody commented on my mis-matched stripes, LOL! My friend was even carrying the one I'd made her :-)

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  5. That happens to me too, I spend the whole week super busy and then I feel creatively stifled and must make something, anything! The clutch looks so simple from the outside, and inside it is wonderfully unique. I can imagine that leather is a challenge to work with.

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    1. It is different from working with fabric. Thank goodness for tips picked up from Pinterest!

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  6. This is so cute and I really like this color combo. What a great use for extra leather!

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  7. How cool! This looks great!

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  8. love the color combo and style of this one!

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    1. Thank you! I'm cooking up other little schemes in my head. I think I'll have to order some more frames!

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  9. Your first paragraph made me laugh! I love that lining!

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  10. Looks great! :)
    I loathe ironing, even pressing as I go, I'm like really.. ugh

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  11. Grellow is always a great combo. How fun to open that and get some eye-poppin fabric.

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    1. Hahaha - grellow! I forgot that was a (kind of) word!

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