enJOY it

Oh, leather. Since day one, I knew you'd turn into a clutch, but I didn't know you'd look like this. To be fair, I didn't use actual leather, I used "fake lamb leather" in "leather brown" color and purchased it from this etsy shop. My first attempt to use this fabric was a massive fail. I tried to make a large envelope clutch, but the neither the "leather" nor the lining was very stiff and it ended up looking like a very ugly cape for a very small super hero.

Into the scrap box went the cape, and I decided to forget about it until a better idea came along. While I was doing my reorganizing a few weeks ago, I found a yard of the dyed fabric* that I'd had for months. It was prettier than I remembered and looked like something I would want to have in clutch form. Knowing that I still needed to use leather, I decided to add some of it as a design element on the bottom of the bag.

This is the second clutch I've made (here's the first) and once again, I followed this simple zippered pouch tutorial. Just like the first time, I made the clutch super big so it could be folded in half. It's 10.5×15 inches (and then folds to about 10.5×8).

I think (I hope?) I'll get more use out of this one than my blue one. It's pretty similar to some of the other clutches that I have in heavy rotation…warm colors and patterned. I have to remember when making stuff to pay attention to the things I already have, wear, use often. I made it a week and a half ago and have already carried it out and about three times, so that's good news.

I spent more money on a decent zipper this time and I think the gold makes it look a bit more legit.

Because the patterned fabric and the "leather" are both thin, I used a duck canvas for the inside lining. It's thick enough to give the bag some structure, but not so thick that it's bulky or refuses to fold.

I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

*The outside patterned fabric is something I found at a small fabric store months ago. It says "Designed by Beth Ann Bruske for David Textiles Inc." if you want to look for something similar.

This is project 11of 27. I am attempting to complete 27 craft projects using 27 different materials before I turn 28 on 02.22.13. You can follow my progress here on the blog or on pinterest. Birthday challenges are my favorite. You can see the 26 Projects I completed while 26 here and the 27 materials I have used so far here.