Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Gathered Clutch Swap

Hexie clutch closeup

It's SWAP time again. No not those fun Swap meets they have in warm climates where people sell all kinds of interesting stuff. I used to love going to those when we were in Florida. This is an organized Craft Swap. This clutch was made for the Gathered Clutch Swap over on Flickr and organized by Penny (Sewtakeahike). The clutch follows a tutorial written by Anna at Noodlehead. You can actually buy her clutch pattern if you like to have your patterns ready-made.

If you're familiar with the tutorial I will say that I did make a couple of adjustments to the original directions. I made my pieces 10" wide instead of 9.5" so that I would have a full 1/2" of seam allowance. For purses I like to have a bit more wiggle room in my seam allowances since there is usually more bulk in the seams than with quilts. I also cut the gathered piece to 16" (not 13" as directed). This gives me a little more fullness and thus more gathers which I like. Finally, beacause I used linen, I interfaced the back of the linen with lightweight fusible interfacing prior to cutting out the pattern pieces. Linen tends to shift when cutting and it has a lot of spring in it. The interfacing helps counter that and makes the linen more amenable to sewing. I love how the linen gave some heft to this clutch. It's nice and stiff and not flimsy - perfect for a little wallet or wristlet.

My partner left it pretty wide open with their requests, so I hope that this is something that they will like. My Swap partner doesn't know yet that this clutch is for them and i'm certainly not going to spill the beans ;) shhhh

Hexie clutch

I had a blast making it. These paper pieced hexagons are pretty addicting to make and were a great scrap project. I thought they would pair well with the linen and the linen really shows off the gathers on the clutch. I like it so much that I'm going to have to make myself one. This was so fun to make and the clutch itself whips up pretty quickly.

My hexies are about 0.65". Hexagons are measured on one of the six sides. So these are just under 1" in width. Making them 0.65" gave me the layout that resulted. I had to put a few hexies on the back too.
Hexie clutch back 'cuz, ya know....you can never have too many hexies.

I added a inside divider and card pockets.
hexie clutch inside

I added a wrist strap and this piece marks the debut of my own Trillium logo which I had printed on ribbon so I could incorporate it into my purses and sewn items. Ok that's probably not too exciting to you, but I'm pretty tickled by it.

If you are looking for a fun sewing adventure, try a Swap sometime - they are fun to participate in and you tend to meet lots of cool like-minded folks who share your craft enthusiasm.

Don't forget, the giveaway for Fat Quarter Issue 2 is still going on, you can enter here.

Happy Sewing!

18 comments:

Bec said...

Oh I love it!! How could you bare to give it away... it will be soo cherished!! its gorgeous!

Tracey Jacobsen said...

this clutch is incredible Caroline!

I've got this one on my list... but I keep taking on quilts!

Thanks for all the discussion on the hows and the whats... very helpful. :) Love this. :)

VickiT said...

OOh I LOVE the changes you made and just love the hexies on the front and back. SUPER cute! Someone is a very lucky swap partner.

Kate said...

This looks wonderful! Someone is going to be very excited to receive this.

Quiltpiecer said...

Wow, this is way cute! Someone is going to be thrilled to receive it! I know I would!

Carla said...

i love all the fabrics and colors! I soo need to make a few of these. The hexes are a great idea.

Andrea said...

This is on my list too. I really like the changes you made, and I love the hexies,especially the ones on th back-cute. Andrea

p.s.phyllis sews said...

Great variation on the clutch theme! Love the fabric that you picked!

Paulette said...

This is so cute and fun with the hexies trim. I love it!

beth said...

what a lovely swap gift! the hexies give it so much LIFE!

Lappedamen said...

What a great idea to use hexagons on the clutch. It's gorgeous.

Larri said...

Oh, this is gorgeous! Wish I was your SWAP partner. :o) Thanks for sharing. Happy Sewing!

www.seamsinspired.com

Three Dancing Magpies said...

This is just fantastic! You did a fantastic job. I have made quite a few and just haven't figured out how to make one with the WOW factor for the swap. You set the bar very high with this one!

Jan said...

I LOVE this! It may be the push needed for me to try hexies. Thanks!

wishes, true and kind said...

Cutest clutch ever!

Penny said...

Oooo..I love hexies! Your clutch is totally awesome :) Thanks for sharing!

Lindsey said...

this is wonderful! I'm sure your wap partner will love it, how could they not!? ;)
I want to make one right now, but debating if I have time before the kids get off the bus. :)

Kristen said...

This one is one my list and you have made it a knock out with the linen and the hexagons! I love the inside fabric too!