How To Make A Purse Handle

I’m pretty excited how these handles turned out.  The cotton belting tons down the sleekness of the leather a bit gives it heft that the thin leather wouldn’t have on it’s own.

These directions result in a 21 1/2 inch shoulder length strap (not including D-rings) and uses a pair of 1 1/4 inch D-rings. The strap length can be easily adjusted, but the width of the strap and the size of the D-rings are related to the width of the cotton belting.

For a single handle strap you will need:

    43 inches of 1 inch wide cotton belting (length = 2 times final length plus two 1/4 inch seam allowances)
    two strips of leather 3/4 inches by 19 inches  (width =  1/4″ thinner than belting, and length = 1 1/2 inches less than final strap)
    two 1 1/4 inch D-Rings
    threads to match belting and leather
    needles and notions mentioned above in the “Tips for Sewing Leather” section above.

Step 1: Thread the two D-rings onto the cotton belting, and sew the ends of the belting together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Make sure the belting is not twisted!

Step 2: Place a leather strip on the right side of belting, centering it across the width, hiding the seam just sewn underneath the leather about two inches from the end of the leather strip. (The aqua arrow points to the seam in the picture below, and the seam allowances are on the opposite side of the belting from the leather.) Use double sided tape on the wrong side of the lather strip and/or clips to hold into place.

Step 3: Sew the leather strip to the cotton belting 1/8 inch from the edge on all 4 sides.

Step 4: Place the second strip of leather onto the belting on the same side as the first strip and with both short ends 1 1/2 inches from the two ends of the first strip and centered across the width . Tape/clip the second leather strip into position and sew all four edges down as with the first.

Step 5: Bring the two leather strips wrong sides together with their cotton belting sides between them, flattening the loop. Line up the leather pieces on all sides and slide a D-ring into each of the two folds on the ends.

Once positioned, clip the two sides of the loop together.

Step 6: Sew the two layers together around the outside of the leather strips. You are not sewing through any leather in this step, just the cotton belting.

With the right stitch length and color thread, the stitches will barely be visible on the belting. The seam in the belting is only noticeable on close inspection which makes the straps reversible.

Lobster Claw Clasp Wholesale

 

 

 

Lobster Claw Clasp Wholesale 

How to Make a Capri Sun Purse

Instructions

        1

        Lay 2 Capri Sun bags side by side, graphics up, so that one bag overlaps the other by about a 1/4 inch. Sew them together at the overlap using a zigzag stitch. Repeat this step to make a front and a back to the Capri Sun purse.
        2

        Sew another 2 bags together as you did in Step 1. Then, cut the bags in half lengthwise and fold each half into thirds. Sew the fold in place using the zig-zag stitch. These are the straps to the Capri Sun purse. Attach one handle to the front and one to the back.

        3

        Make the bottom by overlapping two juice bags using the purse front as a guide to determine the proper length. Sew them together. Create the side panels by sewing a juice bag to the end of the bottom with the graphics facing upright.
        4

        Stitch one side of the front piece to one side piece, making sure the graphics are face the right direction. Leave 1/4 inch at the bottom. Stitch the other side piece to the back. The result should be a "Z" shaped figure with the graphics on one side and the gray on the other side.
        5

        Bend the purse into shape and stitch the remaining sides together, leaving the 1/4 inch at the bottom. The bottom should not be connected to the front or back at this point.
        6

        Attach the front to the bottom. You may find it easier to work with if you fold the purse as you would a paper bag. Do the same to attach the back to the bottom. Sew from one edge all the way to the other. This closes up the gap you left at the bottom of each side seam.