Fall Faux Suede Purse

After I finished the  Irene Purse I realized it was a bit spring-ish for the upcoming fall months so I set out to make a fall/winter purse. I started by "pinning" a bunch of pictures of purses I liked. See my inspirations here.  It seems that cross body purses are big this season, as well as leather...or maybe I just liked those looks and searched a lot of them. I really fell in love with this yellow purse from Urban Outfitters and even thought about buying it but then it was out of stock so I had to make my own version (now it is back in stock...figures.)

Let's just say that finding yellow faux leather material in Northern New Hampshire is not exactly a possibility but I did find some faux suede fabric in the bargain bin for $2 a yard! Sold. I still really had yellow on the brain though so I found some yellow cotton for the inside.

 I also looked for a pattern while I was at the fabric store but couldn't find one. The other day it rained all day long so I made up two prototypes for this purse and when I was satisfied I started sewing with the real fabric.

The best part about the purse is all of the details, at least I think so. It has a front pocket perfect for carrying a checkbook and pen, a pocket inside that fits my cell phone perfectly and an inside pocket that is the perfect size for my wallet and keys.

It even has a back zippered pocket to hold my flash drive and chap stick. I like that everything has it's own space and I never feel like I am searching for anything. I also like that the flap opens up and you can see everything inside, no dark abyss that hold all of my junk and is very hard to locate anything. I guess that's the benefit of thinking about the elements of a purse you want for 4 weeks and making your own pattern. 

The last element that I love is that the strap is adjustable so it can go from an under the arm purse to a cross body purse in a mater of seconds.

Here is my best try at a mirror self portrait. I still haven't mastered the don't scrunch your face up when looking trough the camera face.

The best part is the entire purse only cost $16, much better than a $39 purse from Urban Outfitters or $300 from Kate Spade.


Do you have any fall projects you've been working on?

Lauren


edit: I just added this to Friday Sew N' Tell.