For the eleventh day of A Gift A Day, I decided to make something that was not on my original list. I am making a purse for my daughter, and she doesn’t want any pockets inside. I thought she needed something to hold some change, so I made a lined change purse. You can make one in any size for any object (longer and skinnier for a pencil case, or a larger bag for a makeup bag, for example). I cut my fabric 4 1/2″ by 5″, for a finished size of 3 1/2″ by 4.”
Change Purse
Supplies:
fabric for outside
fabric for lining
matching thread
zipper (about 5″; you can use a longer one and shorten it)
tutorial
Tools:
scissors
sewing machine with a zipper foot
sewing pins
ruler
marking pen or pencil
Time:
The total time for one change purse was about 45 minutes. I think it takes less time than that, but I am only getting 2-3 minute increments in which to work on any presents lately, which is making figuring out the time for any project, let alone completing a project, quite difficult.
Today I made one change purse.
Cost:
$0.00 per purse. I used scraps of fabric that I was given for the lining, scraps from garage sale curtains (these are the same ones from which I made a scarf), and a zipper from an old container that used to hold sheets. I repurposed the zipper because it had this fantastic “W” zipper pull on it, and the purse is for my daughter Winter (now I need to find another one for Wren someday!) If you want your zipper pull to be similar, you can purchase a letter charm and some large jump rings. Using pliers, you can remove the other zipper pull and replace it with a letter charm or another charm. (I have seen letter charms at Walmart, but they were a bit high, I thought. You can also try Michael’s or Joann’s.)
If you need to purchase zippers, Wawak has them on sale this month. A zipper this size is .37. If you want to make multiple bags in the same size, they have a buy 2 get 1 free deal until the end of November (same size and color zipper). They also have a Black Friday deal going all week (through the 23rd) for $10 off a $100 order with code WBF1112.
This takes the tiniest bit of fabric, so you can use leftover scraps from a previous project, or repurpose a bit of clothing. You can use a new zipper, or a repurposed one (just unpick the stitches).
I love this!
You just gave me a duh moment. All those zippers I have thrown away because there where part of a plastic bag something came in! Never again will I toss a zipper just because I don’t want the plastic bag!
Me too!
Me, three! – Marivene
That little zipper pull adds such a “wow” factor! I love the change above the purse, too. Some of the coins are French; are the others Swiss? – Marivene
They’re all French. I thought I had some more Swiss coins but I sadly only have a couple of them.
I LOVE these little zipper bags. I made a few of them over the past year. The girls gave them as gifts when invited to birthday parties. We put in nail polish we had found on a big sale and a little manicure kit also found for less than a dollar. This is the tutorial I used for those http://flossieteacakes.blogspot.com/2009/05/lined-zippered-pouch-make-up-bag.html If you want/need another kind, I made a circular one with the zip along the diameter. The patterns used batting, but I don’t think it is necessary. I found the free tutorial here http://erinerickson.com/2011/11/circle-zip-earbud-pouch-tutorial/ I really need to start sewing again. I like making these because they are such a short project that I feel successful when I am done and feel like I can tackle another project. (my hyper curious 18 mo makes it tough to do anything right now!)So sweet to find that W! So gorgeous! I really love your gift-a-day series.Penelope
I don’t know where to put this one, but I was just pointed in the direction of a website that formats letters from Santa for your kids – you choose the template, put in their name, gender, and age, and it generates and e-mails you a very nice looking letter that you can then print out and slip into the mail box. If anyone’s interested here’s the link – http://santamailfree.com/
I like the covered zipper ends on the first one. Maybe I’ll try that one next time! Thanks!
I love all of the gifts that you are making. You’re so talented!Have you seen the free templates from Down East Thunder Farm? The have a Wee Winter Wren. Not that you need more to do.http://www.downeastthunderfarm.com/freebies/
I love the names Winter and Wren! Brandy, everything you do shows originality and initiative. Such an inspiration! 🙂