Wedding Blog

January 5th and it’s back to the daily grind. I really wasn’t looking forward to going back to work, but I am excited that it’s 2009! There is so much for me to look forward to this year including finding a new place to live, taking on new responsibilities at work and, of course, the whole getting married thing.

I took advantage of the few days I had away from work over the holidays to tackle some DIY projects for the wedding. One project in particular I had on the to-do list was crafting a gift for my bridesmaids.

Disclaimer: If you are one of my bridesmaids, please don’t read any further unless you want to ruin the surprise. I know at least a few of you girls have been checking out Weddingbee lately, so I’m talking to you! Don’t read the rest of this post!

Long before my bridesmaids selected a dress, I knew that I wanted to make them some accessories to match their attire. High on my list was to make them purses and I found a great pattern for a clutch handbag on Etsy from hyperart.

I wanted to do a trial run with an inexpensive fabric, so I stopped into Joann’s and picked up some printed cotton calico material from the quilting section, fusible interfacing, a coordinating zipper and some thread. I followed the pattern and I was thrilled with the results:

The fabric I picked out reminds me of Vera Bradley’s collections, and I like how it looks with the flower pin I picked up at H&M a few months back. With the success of my trial run, I was confident enough to purchase some higher-quality fabric and sew some purses for the bridesmaids.

I was having a hard time finding the right color fabric to match the green of the dresses, so I decided it was better to find a complementary contrasting color instead of using a clashing shade of green. The material I settled on was a taupe shantung for the outside and a green and ivory cotton mini print for the lining.

I did each step of the handbags at once times five. I cut all of the fabric at once, ironed on the fusible interfacing (for stability) and then did each sewing step for all five purses.

Everything cut out and ready to go.

Sewing the pieces together.

And turning it right-side-out.

Here is the finished product:

I’m considering making fabric flowers or purchasing rhinestone broaches to dress them up a little bit, but for now, I’m giving this project a rest. If I do nothing else to them, at least they are finished to the point that they make a nice gift

Here’s the cost breakdown for all five:

Pattern = $6.00

2 yards of fusible interfacing ($2.25/yard) = $4.5o

2 yards of cotton for lining ($1.99/yard) = $3.98

2 yards of shantung fabric ($9.99/yard) = $19.98 - 40% coupon = $11.99

Zippers (5 @ $1.69) = $8.45

Spool of thread = $1.45

Total = $36.37 for all, about $7.75 each!

All in all, I’m really proud of myself for taking on this project. This was my first project that involved using a zipper foot ,and the logistics of putting the pieces together so the lining was facing the right way when I turned it inside-out were a little tricky. I really hope they like them and I’m also hoping that they might be able to use them again for a night out. And, I love having the pattern so I can make these wristlet bags for any future special occasions where I’ll need a custom-coordinating handbag.

Are you planning on making gifts for your bridesmaids?