SAVE MONEY. CREATE.
Have trouble walking away from a cute purse even though you have a mountain of purses crammed into your closet? Next to shoes, I would have to say purses are commonly a woman’s next addiction.
If you saw my post on shoe organization, you know I have a hard time passing up a good deal on shoes. Now, my purse collection is not near as impressive because I’ve been able to hold off my urges for the simple fact I don’t ever take the time to change my purses out. However, the temptation never leaves me and I often find myself examining the straps of an apple green purse before I remember that I don’t even use the purses I have. It also helps that we are currently on a strict budget for the purposes of saving.
That being said, we were shopping together the other day and I ran across some clutches in a vintage store that were handmade. They were so cute and tempting, but upon close examination, I realized they were made out of placemats. I thought to myself, I can make that! And so, here we are!
Supplies:
- placemat ($2.99 Target seasonal section)
- sewing machine and matching thread
- flower pin (optional)
- button clasp (optional)
Game Plan:
1. Fold the placemat up until you have the size of clutch you want.
Figure out how you want your purse to look by folding it
2. Sew along the two edges.
Sew along the edges of the placemat to create an enclosure
3. If you want to have your clutch seal, sew on a clasp with a needle and thread.
The ones I saw in the store did not have clasps on them but they were super easy to do and inexpensive so I thought, why not? Next time I’ll probably try to find magnetic clasps because I like those better.
Sew on snaps with a needle and thread
4. You could be done if you wanted to be right now, or you can add some pop to your clutch by pinning on a flower of your choice.
I love to accessorize with flowers so I already had the ones below on hand. I suggest using flower pins so you can change them out to match your mood or outfit.
To see how much you’re saving, here are some placemat purses that sell on etsy.com:
$15
$12
$27
$10
$12
What other ideas do you have for DIY purses?
This is a darling idea and it turned out so cute! Love the yellow! I would love it if you would link this up to my Ta-Da Tuesday link party starting tonight at midnight!!
http://mommybydaycrafterbynight.blogspot.com
xoxo, Ashley J
Love it! I have the same yellow ones from Target clearance. Thanks for the inspiration.
Great project for school Chinese Auctions.
An inexpensive project that could bring in a nice profit for the school.
I absolutely loved the clutched placement purse but I don’t sewing machine. Something I need to invested in. I’m sure you could do it w/ out a sewing machine but it wouldn’t look as good.
Meg
Love this! One of a kind piece!
This would be a great idea to make for my bridesmaids… my color theme is yellow and grey, so the yellow clutch would be perfect! thanks for the idea!
I think they would love to get them and could make for a cute wedding photo op! Wish I would’ve thought of it back when I got married
Good luck with wedding planning!
Very cute find/idea Brady!
love this idea! I just found a new inexpensive and fashionable project for
myself! Love your site by the way!
Thanks Christina!
I noticed you used a magnet clasp on one of the bags in the picture. How did you fasten it? I bought a few to try this project but can figure out how to do it.
I actually didn’t use a magnetic clasp but plan on doing so next time. I thought they were just like the button closures where you sew them on and then the two parts just fasten by magnetism. I don’t know if that helps at all. I look at them more closely next time I go to the store.
Tahnks so much the girls in the church class I teach hand stitched these for an easy Christmas gift for their moms!! I bought those velcro dots that stick as I didn’t think they were ready for button sewing just yet.
That’s awesome and great idea with the velcro dots!
I absolutely love it and I love that you compared it to what you would pay to buy one from Etsy or a retailer! Nice job!
Jess
http://thedelightfulcrafter.blogspot.com/
Can you use fabric glue instead of using the sewing machine
I’m sure you could. Fabric glue takes quite awhile to set up so I would let it dry overnight. I think a sewing machine would be more durable, but I’m sure fabric glue would hold up just fine, unless you were cramming it full of stuff and putting lots of stress on it. It’s definitely worth a shot, especially if you don’t sew!