DIY oversized clutch bag

So I'm continuing with the bag theme this week by sharing this little (actually quite big) clutch bag I made last week. A friend of mine who is crazy talented and creative was moving (just after giving birth to a beautiful baby girl literally one week earlier) and was freeing up some space by giving away a huge load of fabric scraps - needless to say I was more than happy to take it off her hands - thanks Erin! It took me about five hours to organise the scraps of fabric but my mind was in creative overdrive as I was sifting through all the cute fabric. A lot of it is just small swatches so I'm thinking I might just get round to making that patchwork quilt I've been planning ever since getting my sewing machine!

But lets get back to this bag. I have a real thing for yellow at the moment...maybe it's because I'm trying to make up for the lack of sun in my life.

I've been seeing these fold over clutches popping up on Pinterest for ages so I finally decided it was time to make one. I normally get annoyed with how impractical clutches are but I can fit everything I need with ease into this...mobile phone, wallet, keys, make up...even my camera (I only have a little one) can fit!

Let's get to it!

1. Cut out two 30 x 22cm pieces of the base fabric (yellow) and two 30 x 15cm pieces of the top fabric (patterned). Pin one base fabric and one top fabric together along the longest side, right sides facing. Sew together. Repeat for the other pieces of fabric.

2. Cut out two pieces of lining to match the size of the sewn together fabric. Place one piece of lining with the fabric rights sides facing. Pin the lining to the top fabric and sew together. Repeat for the other fabric and press all seams.

3. You should have two pieces of fabric that look like the photo above. A quick pause from sewing while we tackle the snaps. Mark the middle of the lining fabric about 1.5 - 2" from the top, fit the base of the heavy duty snap to the lining using the manufacturers instructions (just make sure that the bottom of the snap is showing on the wrong side of the fabric!). You can fit the top half of the snap at this stage but I wanted to make sure they lined up so I fitted it once the bag was sewn together!

4. Next pin the two pieces of fabric together, right sides facing. Sew together around the edges leaving a 7 - 10cm gap along the bottom edge of the lining. Next pull the fabric through this gap so that the right sides face out. Close the gap at the lining with a slipstitch. Press the edges.

5. Fold the lining inside the bag and press the seam joining the fabric to the top fabric to ensure a nice clean edge.

6. Mark on the outside of the bag where the top side of the snap needs to be fitted. Fit according to manufacturer instructions.

Note: if you want to hide the snap then you can fit the top side of the snap in the same way you did the base in step 3, Just fit it to the lining but make sure when you pin the two sides of the bag together that the snap parts match up!

Also, if you want to cover your snap with fabric as I did then it's really easy! Simply add a little fabric glue to the top of the snap and adhere to the fabric, easing out any creases. Cut any excess fabric leaving about a 1/2cm edge. Glue the excess fabric to the back of the part and leave to dry for a few minutes before continuing with fitting it to the bag.

And then all you need to do is fill it with your lovely things, fold over the top half of the bag and show off your newest handmade treasure :)

Can you tell I had some time to kill on Photoshop? (well it was more procrastinating to avoid the washing up waiting for me in the kitchen...and, yes, adding hearts is about the extent of my creativity when it comes to editing photos!)

Happy Tuesday!