Tweed Flower Handbag for Stitch Winter 2013

 

I have another magazine project to share! Sometime last spring, just after we’d moved to Nashville, I submitted a purse design to Stitch magazine for their winter issue. I really love working with Stitch, because their design prompts are so interesting and they really get my creative juices flowing.

The idea was to design a project in “plaids and tweeds.” Having worked minimally with tweed fabrics, I knew that they had a tendency to separate unless they are high-quality. In my shopping around online, I discovered a company called Harris Tweed, which sells super-luxe (expensive!) fabrics, like this green herringbone. I had to have some of this, but I couldn’t afford to order yardage. I don’t remember what the price was at the time, but it’s currently £35.00 per metre in the Harris Tweed shop.

So, I harnessed the power of networking. Counting on the generosity of the handmade community, I found an Etsy seller based in Scotland who had made an adorable wallet from the very same tweed I was after. I wrote Sally and asked if she had a piece just big enough for my project which she’d be willing to sell me, and she did! Sigh of relief. She even sent me one of those adorable Harris Tweed labels to sew inside the purse.

I chose Joel Dewberry Heirloom for the inside and used an gold chain and matching metal snap to finish the bag. I found these on a thrift store bag, and I think this design would work great if you had a men’s tweed suit jacked you wanted to upcycle into a purse.

I think she likes my purse. I kind of like it, too! Stitch Winter 2013 is available now at the Interweave Store.

Craft Buds and My Shop