Ugly Fabric Challenge

Earlier this year a fellow quilter sent several of us a piece of "Ugly Fabric" and challenged us to make something. I thought this is fun and raided my stash looking for fabric that would go with it.  I am very happy to say that the only thing I had to buy when making this purse was the webbing for the handles.  I did buy a zipper but decided that I did not want to put one on this version.  I also decided that I was not interested in making it into a quilt. I wanted something simple that I could actually finish, not something that would add to my UFOs.

For a long time I have wanted to make a purse of my own design using things I liked from other purses to make it one I would like and so I went for it.  I measured a couple of purses I owned that were about the size I wanted, and I looked at the pockets in others to adjust them to be useful to me. I also measured and adjusted the handles to a size that worked for me, as often the handles on purses are much shorter or longer than what I really like.

The end result was this purse:

I made the purse roughly 10 inches wide and 10 inches tall, and about 5 inches wide.  I used one layer of Temtex on each of the sides and two layers in the bottom.

I made the one inside pocket long enough to fit my iPhone laying sideways.

I added a smaller pocket on the opposite side of the lining.

I also reinforced the upper edge by using Timtex on both the inner and outer side and used polyester webbing for the straps. I sealed the webbing with liquid seam stuff that I got at JoAnn's.

Then I top stitched the upper edge to the outside of the bag and quilted the top edges to really hold in the handle ends inside and reinforce them, spacing the quilting lines about 1/4" apart.

The end result is a cute purse in my opinion is very functional and stands up on its own.  I also like the contrast of the light pockets with the darker interior, as it makes it easy to locate things.  The only thing I have not yet done is to spray the purse with Scotch Guard as it has been rather cold out, and I am waiting for it warm up before doing so, after all I do live in Alaska.

Ruler, 12"size, to give you a better view of the dimensions.

 


I plan to make another version of this purse. I have ideas for a few modifications to my basic pattern  and am thinking I will try adding a zipper to it and maybe even add an outer zippered pocket for my cell phone, or my keys.  I like that I have come up with a design that pulls concepts from purses that I like so that I can make it functional for me.