Folk Purse Tutorial

Sew up a duo of striped purses using the quilt-as-you-go technique. Metal Frame Purse Pattern and Tutorial.

 Quilt as you go (QAYG) is a method of joining pieces together and quilting them at the same  time, it is a great technique if you don’t have time to baste!

Use ¼" seams throughout unless otherwise stated 
F8th – fat eighth

MATERIALS
◆ 6 grey prints (this project used Clean Slate Color Master for AGF) 
◆ 35cm Refractions Violet Mystical Land for living
◆ F8th Violet, Sunflower, Lettuce, Tangerine, Lapis Lazuli, Capri Blue * Flame Floral Elements for
Art Gallery Fabrics
◆ 30cm #279 Vlieseline cotton mix 80/20 wadding 
◆ 60cm Vlieseline Style-Villa foam interfacing 
◆ 2 Antique Silver Prim Hannah sew-in purse frames 
◆ Antique Silver Prym Simone detachable chain handle 
◆ DMC perle Cotton A Broder thread 
◆ Templates (DOWNLOAD PDF PATTERN)

 NOTE:
The 80/20 cotton mix interfacing is used whole and then cut out after quilting and the foam interfacing is cut to size after the panels are cut out.

 CUTTING
From grey fabrics, cut:
6 triangles using Template 1
back piece using Template 3

From Floral Elements, cut:
6 triangles using Template 1
back piece using Template 2 

From lining fabric, cut:
2 lining pieces using Template 2
2 lining pieces using Template 3

PREPARATION
1. Begin by taking the purse template and drawing around it onto the wedding. (See Pic A.) The aim of this is to ‘colour it in’ by just going over the lines with the fabric. 

2. Take your first triangle and lay it onto the centre of the drawing at an angle. (See Pic B.) Top-stitch it into place.  (See Pic C.)

3. Take another triangle and lay it right sides together onto the first. Sew a normal seam to secure it.  (See Pic D.) Flip it over and top-stitch. (See Pic E.) 

4. Continue in this manner until the whole purse shape is covered,  working both sides of the first piece. For the back piece, simply lay this on the wedding and topstitch the same way.  (See Pic F.) 

5. Repeat this for the grey pieces. 

6 . Cut the purse shapes out and lay them onto a piece of slightly larger interfacing. Attach them to the foam interfacing with a narrow basting seam and then trim to the same size and shape as the purse. Repeat for the back and the other purse. You will notice that one purse style has cut-out squares and the other has classic darts. Both of these act in the same way – to add volume to your purse.

ASSEMBLY
7. On the templates you will see a mark ‘H’. This is the hinge mark and  it is important to know where this is to make the purse open in the right place. Transfer it to the wrong side of the pattern pieces so that you can see  it clearly. 

8. Take the front and back pieces of one purse and pin or clip the pieces right sides together. Sew around the bottom from hinge mark to hinge mark. (See Pic F.) 

9 . Do the same on the lining but leave a turning gap in the base of the lining. (See Pic G.) Box the lower corners on both the lining and the outer. (See Pic H.) On the grey purse, sew the darts.

10. With the outer the right way out and the lining inside out, pull the lining on over the outer so that the right sides are together. Match up the seams and pin or clip. This time sew around the top edge, from hinge to hinge.  

11. Turn the purse out through the gap and check that everything is perfect. Roll the top seam between your fingers to make that sit nicely and press it if you need to. Close the lining gap. 

12. Baste the purse into the frame. (See Pic I.)  Come back in with your strong thread and sew the frame in properly using the holes in the frame. Repeat for the other purse.