Felt is a wonderful material to start a sewing project with. It is easy to handle and doesn’t move around much like some fabrics. It also doesn’t fray so you needn’t hem or worry about the edges.
What you need:
A piece of felt
Colourful thread (thicker is better)
A bigger sewing needle
What to do:
- Take a rectangular piece of felt and fold so that you have three equal sections. One section will be the size of your purse so look at it to make sure it isn’t too small or too big. You can cut it accordingly.
- Lay it flat on the table and at the top draw out a v from the fold mark. Round off the tip so that it isn’t too sharp. That makes it easier to sew.
- Take your threaded needle with a nice knot at the end and begin sewing the edges. (A nice big needle works best for children just discovering sewing.)
- Don’t worry about the exactness here. The creative process allows for individuality so as long as the stitching stays along the edge somewhere. The purse will come out ok.
- Start in the corner where the top flap bends down. Start inside the purse bringing your thread out at the edge. Now loop the needle over and around to the bottom so that you can see the stitching on the edges. A nice contrasting colour of thread highlights the stitching and gives it flair.
- Continue all around the edges getting the edging for the flap so that it matches the look.
- Make sure that when you reach the corners, you sew a few extra stitches so that it holds nicely and put a nice knot inside so that it doesn’t unravel.
- Sew the button in the middle of the purse where the flap folds over and cut a slit in the flap to correspond with the button.
- Make sure when you are sewing on the button that you do not sew the front of the purse to the back. Then it won’t hold much.
To add on to this purse for further creative endeavours, you can iron on patches, sew on a pocket, paint it with fabric paint or add on decorative pieces like bells and embroidery.
