A friend on Facebook posted photos of a purse she’d made that I thought was the cutest! I asked for the pattern, and she pointed me here. I showed this purse half done in the President’s Day post. Now that I’ve finished, it however, I thought I give the background of it.
I had bought some fabric recently that I thought would be perfect for the pattern. However, because I have some issues with cutting into pretty fabric (ok, I admit, I just have fabric issues in general), I decided to make a “prototype” purse first.
Completed purse
I had some plain fabric sitting around that would be perfect for it. Of course, plain fabric is no fun, so I decided to embellish a little bit… 🙂 The flower was free-handed on and then painted with fabric paint. The green lines are embroidered on.
Details of the embellishing
I’m actually very glad I did the prototype, even though I’m still laughing at myself for my quirky fabric issues. The purse, while overall being great, has some things that I’d like to change before I use my pretty fabric. For one, the handle is too wide; I’ll probably cut the width in half next time, and I might attach it differently than the direction call for as well. Additionally, I added a pocket on the inside, but for the next one, I’ll add an inset zipper pocket as well.
Pockets on the inside
In any case, the purse was fun to embellish and I think it turned out pretty and cute over all. I’m not sure it’s my style completely, but maybe I’ll carry for a casual evening out in the summer or something.
LadyReed 
Oh Dear! You too! …..I am always making “dummy dresses” before the real thing because I don’t want to mess up with the pretty fabric! And with knitting, I use free yarn- the kind others give me because they’re sick of their unused stash- to practice new skills in a pattern.
Still, your prototype purse is super cute! If you don’t want it, you can always sell it online 🙂
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Thanks! Glad I’m not the only one that does it 🙂
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[…] I was looking at the prettiness of the fabric and wonderful block I was going to use to make this awesome quilt. And then, it was time to cut the fabric and I completely chickened out! I couldn’t do it! What if I didn’t cut it right and messed the whole thing up?! Oh, no! (Please note, this is another off-shoot of my fabric issues discussed here.) […]
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I have a problem cutting into my hand-dyed fabrics. I spent one whole summer dying fabrics and have yet to cut into one of them. I think maybe it’s because they’re “one of a kind” and I’ll never get that same fabric again. But, then on the other hand…what am I saving it for? 🙂
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Wow, hand dyed! I can’t imagine cutting into that after all the work put into it. I understand not wanting to use that fabric. 🙂
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Problem is that it’s in a little “tub” looking pretty when it would look a lot prettier in a project!
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[…] thought it was just perfect for her. I used the same Buttercup purse pattern that I used to make my prototype purse. Making the prototype was a good decision, because the quality that I was able to put in this one […]
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