Flapper Purse

Flapper Purse,
originally uploaded by SquareBag.

Purse is based on a pattern by Lisa Gay, Aivilo Charlotte Designs

This is an incredibly versatile pattern. Make it once to get the hang of construction, then add whatever strikes your fancy.  I quilted the flap, changed up the flap shape, and am now on my third bag.

Now that I have learned to put zippers in bags.....I want zippers in all of them.  This bag just listed in my Etsy shop SquareBag Shoppe

Our Bag Is Done!

Here is photo of finished frame clutch using the fabric you voted for.







There are a couple of things to add.  I topstitched around the top of the bag to give it some structure.  My thinking was that it would to into the channel of the frame more easily.  It does.

Then, I remembered reading somewhere in my research to apply some masking tape to the edge to keep the glue off the fabric.

...zoom in on the photo on the left

and notice the glue on the frame.  You can

remove this easily with nail polish remover and

a Q-Tip.  And from your hands as wel.

Finally, thank you all for following along both on the blog here and over at the Carried Away Bag Team thread.  I will leave it up until someone decides it needs to go.  Thanks especially to Andy, Sherry, Sandra, IslandGirl, SoCalGal, Bagalicious and my DH who worked so hard getting the glue off the bag frames I ruined.

Cheers.

Well, we are almost there...

I have learned a lot about the secrets of making metal frame purses.  Believe me, there are a few things that I really didn't understand....the epiphany for me was this part (trust me it is KEY):  You will find it in Lisa's  tutorial and I learned it the hard way.  See the red X?  That is where you need to widen your pattern in order to have it open wide enough.  There is a hinge involved here and that is where you can get into trouble.

Here,  my pattern
did not allow for the hinge.  I can't get my hand into the bag when is it open.
Here is the pattern I made to allow for that space.Again, the U-Bag Tutorial that Lisa put out makes the most sense to me.

As I was told by several talented bagmakers, you need to make your own pattern to match the frame size.
For you folks who have posted here my blog or on our thread at CABT (Carried Away Bag Team.(it is on the ning page..if you are not a member, you should be)  tell me that you want to try these bags but haven't for lack of info.  I will post more suggestion on my flker page because it will be photo-heavy and my bog needs to move on (like me).

See you in the morning....

Metal Hinge Bag Fiasco....

Yesterday I tried to make a pattern and bag...the result was a disaster:

Andy Lyle responded via CABT with the following.  I am going to try it with scrap fabric.  Here is what she says:

I'm sorry, I don't have anything posted to show how I put the leather in. I do have a blog: http://andylylestreasures.blogspot.com/. I'll try to put something on there about the leather lacing soon. In the meantime, I bought the leather lacing at Wal-Mart. I've also seen it at Michaels, Hobby Lobby and on line. I used it in making my Black Suede Little Bag (see a picture of it here with my photos).

When I was working with the first of my flat frame wallets, I decided to try to use something to wedge the fabric into the frame. The leather is what I had handy. Dan at 3DPatternPaper (at Etsy) offers paper rope for the same purpose.

The way I do it is this:

1. Trim the fabric to fit the shape of the frame.
2. Cut a length of leather lacing to the length of the frame opening.
3. Mark the fabric to show where it should fit into the frame to insure that it's place correctly.
4. When ready, using Gutemran's or UHU glue put a bead of glue in a section of the frame.
5. Place the fabric for that section in the frame with the help of something you will use to poke it in (I used my craft sissors, an awl would be good, too.)
6. Place the leather lacing for that section on top of the fabric and cram it in to secure the fabric in the frame. If the fabric stays loose after that, you'll need to crimp the frame. That will depend on the thickness of your fabric and the size of the frame opening.
7. Complete the rest of the frame.
8. After the glue has completely dried, using a craft knife, trim any of the fabric that extends from the edge of the leather lacing.

I hope this helps.

I also found another way to get to the Uhandbag directions. They're at this site: http://www.box.net/shared/869jey4eat. I'm also going to post the pdf copy of it.

Soooo...I'm off to try Andy's technique.  Will post pictures tonight......if I can get my finger unstuck.