Make a clutch bag, matching confetti NOT necessary!

The wedding gushing continues! If you don't know my best friend got married two weeks ago. It was an ABSOLUTELY amazing day. Let's nip that in the bud and move on... before I wail. I had the pleasure of making four bridesmaid dresses and while I await the official photography I thought I'd share the clutch bags I made for the big day, one for each of the girls and the bride.

The bags were cut from the same fabric that I used to line the dresses. I included a coin/card pocket, a wrist strap, a magnet fastener and I lined them in the main dress fabric.

The Bride and I have been friends long enough to match the lining perfectly to the flowers with the briefest of discussions (pah - it was a happy accident!). We talked over the phone about the colours in the bouquet before I merrily popped off to buy this gorgeous print (Regent Street for Moda) from a local fabric shop (Country Threads, also available here). It turned out to be the perfect match for the flowers - it must be the Biotine bond!

I also made little confetti bags, and I went all out and matched the petal confetti. Who knew I'd be THAT kind of girl?! I scoured the internet for matching confetti!!! 2 years ago I could count the number of items I had ironed on one hand. Look at me now... THIS BRINGS ME JOY:

!!!
God help Dave if we ever get married.

I wanted a simple clutch bag with a low profile. I searched the internet for a tutorial, but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. So I decided to give it a go myself. I used my Swedish tracing paper to get a rough idea of the size and shape I was looking for. Then I got drafting. You can download the simple pattern I made here. 

You will need:

1. 0.5m of main fabric - I used Regent Street by Sentimental Studios for Moda. Available here.
2. 0.5m of lining fabric - I used a navy crepe from John Lewis 
3. Iron on interfacing to match the weight of your fabric
4. Sew in foam stabiliser or something to give the bags body - I used some old curtain lining!
5. A magnetic bag fastener

S/A 3/8" unless stated.

1. Cut out the bag, the strap, and the pocket from your main fabric. You need one bag piece cut from your lining fabric.

2. Iron on your interfacing to your shell bag fabric.

3. Mount the shell fabric onto your stabiliser. I pinned wrong sides together and sewed around with a 2/8" S/A. Then I used the main fabric as a guide to cut it out.

4.  Sew the pocket pieces together right sides together. Stop 2cm before you reach the original stitch point so you can turn the pocket right sides out. Press and hand sew closed.

5. Align the pocket piece 2.5cm down from the flap fold line on the lining piece and stitch in place. 

6. Mark the position of the magnetic fasteners, and snip two holes for the metal legs. Push the clasp through and bend the legs to secure.

7. Fold the strap in half length ways right sides together and turn out the right way. Press. Check out a real easy way to do this here.

8. Sandwich the strap between the right sides of the main shell, making sure the strap is aligned at 3/8" from the top of the seam. Pin in place.

9. Stitch the side seams on the main shell and the lining.

10. Then using the bagging out technique, place the lining inside the shell right sides together (Diagram A). Pin and sew around the 'flap' and the opening of the bag (Diagram B). Leave a couple of cms to turn the bag right sides out. I didn't actually use this technique on the bag I photographed as it only dawned on me after I had made the first bag! That is why on the picture above the lining is right sides out as I stitched the lining to shell before stitching the side seams.

A

B

11. Turn the bag right sides out and press.
12. Hand sew the opening closed.

Your bag is finished!

Here is a sneaky peak of the girlies and I in the bridesmaid dresses clutching our bags! 

Let me know in the comments if you sew one of these clutch bags, or if you are thinking of doing some crafting for a wedding. 

Until next time, 

love

Vic x