Sew Your Own Designer Purse With Fabric Made From Scraps
Lazies, Elaine Gentry made this fabulous Chloe Handbag from her fabric scraps for the next entry in our ‘Show Us Your Lazy!’ project feature. Elaine took her inspiration for creating this fabric from Annette Morgan’s article “Layer it On: Making New Fabric From Scraps” from Quilting Arts Fall 2005 issue.
Elaine laid out pieces of her stash and fused them to a piece of Pellon stabilizer. She then stamped on acrylics and metallic luminaries. Next, the piece was covered with multi-colored organzas and tulles. Elaine then free motion stitched around the stamped motifs as well as all over the whole piece.
Finally, Elaine cut/burned off the top layer of sheers within the stamped motifs and snipped the tulle and organza to reveal the areas underneath.
Here’s Elaine:
I stitched around the motifs and I can hardly wait to finish the stitching and burn baby burn with my new hot tool! Throw fresh batteries in the smoke detector baby, mom’s cookin again! Click on the pictures (above) and feel the excitement I’m feeling with this technique!
There does come a time when I have to stop the stitching and burning already! I really had no idea what I would eventually do with it and I toyed with making art postcards or just a wall-hanging. That’s when I pulled out the Lazy Girl Designs Chloe Handbag (LGD120) pattern and used the pattern template to discover that I had just enough funky art fabric to go for it! I was a bit intimidated about cutting it up and actually constructing something with a dreaded LINING (a former fear of mine).
I’m really proud of it as it’s only my 2nd little purse. Aint it kewl! It’s lined with little pockets and I even used a magnet closure instead of Velcro. Move over Luis Vuitton!
– Lazy Girl Elaine Gentry
I love Elaine’s handbag. I might need to inspect it personally just to confirm its fabulousness. 
Elaine, if you have any fabric left over, consider making a matching Wonder Wallet for your Chloe.
Great job Elaine! Thanks for sharing your creation with us. You can follow along with Elaine’s crafting and Lazy adventures at her blog
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Next time instead of timtex type product, try fun foam. It shrinks when you heat it forming a very cool “crinkly” type of fabric. But only heat it AFTER you put the purse together.
Wow that is great!
Love the purse Elaine!
Love it, love it, love it. How creative and fun. What a blast to do.
Thank you lovely Lazies!! I’m just thrilled to have it featured here!
It WAS so fun to do and worked wonderfully with the Chloe pattern! I’ve always wanted to make a “real” purse and I love to tell people “Oh, thanks, I MADE it!”
Thanks Barb for the “fun foam” tip! That stuff sounds like too much fun with fire!
WOW and double WOW! Elaine, your bag is amazing. Where can I get a copy of the Quilting Arts article? I have a stash, rubber stamps, and all the other stuff.
This is fantastic! What fun and so creative. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Trish! Quilting Arts.com offers back issues and it’s the Fall 2005 Issue 19. “Layer It On, Making New Fabrics from Scraps” The first piece I made, I used little scissors to snip the sheers off. I then bought a hobby heat tool from Home Depot and thats when the real fun began! Sounds like you are ready to go!
[...] Lazy Girl Designs Purse, Quilt and Sewing Patterns – Behind the Seams « Sew Your Own Designer Purse With Fabric Made From Scraps [...]
This is wonderful, a way to combine our passions for fabrics, for stamps, for paints, heat tools, and especially purses. I love the idea of being able to carry art wherever I go. Thanks for the inspiration.
Hi Lazy Girl
just love this site.You are so so talented and so generous with your ideas and help 
I need some help in finding a wholesale source of sew in magnets for purses.The ones that are encased in plastic ? I am having the hardest time finding a source.
I would dearly apprecitate any sources you might have.
aloha from honolulu
shar
Hi Shar,
Try http://www.umei.com
Good luck!
Joan
Thank you for your suggestion.
Great idea to do with scraps. I work at a fabric store and there are tons and I mean tons of fabric scraps of cute fabrics. Now I have some cute ideas.
Great blog!!! Keep on sewing!
Thanks Fabric! It’s time for me to make another one. Sure wish I could hang out in your fabric store!!
Hi can you tell me how i can get the pattern for Noriko hand bag .I have a disabilty and cant get out to find the pattern.Can you help me can i get it to download.Thanks sue
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Hi Sue,
Noriko is a pattern in Asian Fabrics magazine, issue #7. It is not a free pattern, nor a download from the internet. The magazine is currently sold out at most places. You may still be able to find a copy if you surf around the internet.
Joan
A reply for shar: If you are still looking for stitchable magnets try Abel Magnets in England – they have them.
Hi,lm a school teatcher and also handycrafter.I would like to know more about your tecnique to do purses.Bye and thank you for your attencion.