I’ve been wanting to make myself a new handbag for a while, but apparently I needed a deadline to motivate myself! We took a spring break trip to somewhere nice and warm, and about a week before, I decided to start on this project, haha.
I used the Thistle Tote pattern, which is a free pattern from Blue Calla. This designer came highly recommended to me, and the pattern didn’t disappoint! Not only is it a lovely design, the instructions are very clear and the construction is very straightforward.
I bought the floral cotton on clearance a couple of years ago to use to make cloth napkins, and shortly thereafter inherited a huge stack of napkins, so this fabric has just been waiting for a new purpose. I’m excited that it will coordinate with my aqua cold-weather jacket and also look good in warmer seasons (the first example being our trip to the beach!). The blue and aqua solids that I used as accents and lining fabrics are remnants from other projects! I had recently received some hand-me-down (but new!) fleece interfacing from a neighbor, and I was able to scrounge scraps of fusible interfacing from other projects. I love when I can use what I already have. I even had the zippers and coverable button on hand! The only things I purchased for this project were one of the magnetic snaps and the strap hardware, and some thread (and that will be useful for future projects as well).
The prize for “I-had-it-on-hand-ness” goes to the piping, though!! I made this piping in 2011 (!!!) for my Amy Butler Field Bag, and I had just a short length left. It was the first piping I’d made, and I was very proud of it, so there was no way I was going to throw away the scrap! As I was waffling around about what fabrics to use where for this purse, I pulled it out, and lo and behold, it was literally the exact length I needed to add to the top of this purse. It was SO SATISFYING!!
I made the pattern almost exactly as-written. The only modifications I made were to insert two interior zipper pockets (rather than one plus a slip pocket), and I added a zipper pocket to the exterior back as well.
I really like that the strap is adjustable so I can wear this purse cross-body or over my shoulder!