Handmade Clutch || Liberty Tresco Print

Made using a Michelles Patterns pattern, this clutch was unbelievably simple to make and the prettiest gift I could give to a special friend. The pattern is an enlarged card wallet. I chose a denim-look cotton for the inside, mustard linen for the bottom, and my favourite Liberty Art Fabric print "Tresco" for the top. I've got a massive Samsung Notebook phone and you can see it fits perfectly. Just the right size for a night out. I hope she loves it!!

Tresco print purchased from Shaukat.

Another Nappy Bag? Why Not?!!!

OK, so the question is how many nappy bags does one mum need?

Well, let's see. There's one for every day stuff like nappies, bottles, snacks etc. And there's one each for 'overnight stays'... and there's one for toys and books.... Can you ever have too many bags? Am I over-justifying? Is that even a word?

The bottom line is that I needed to upgrade to something bigger. With two bubs, there's twice the nappies and bottles. And I was carrying a separate bag of books and toys for Isla. So, mum and I came up with a bigger bag to fit everything. We made the outer pockets bigger on the sides to fit water bottles. And we made large patchwork zippered pockets on the front and back to store bits and pieces I didn't want the kids playing with, like my phone and the car-keys! Inside, we made a bigger pouch to fit the nappies and wipes all-in-one. And there's still heaps of room to fit bottles, food, toys and even magazines and games.

Fabric stack ready for cutting

I wanted colours that weren't too girlie so that my husband wouldn't cringe when asked to carry the nappy bag :o) So when I was in Calico and Ivy recently, I hunted through the reds and found the perfect combination. And we went for a navy outer and mustard inner - both from Carols of Midland, in Midland.

I love the scrunchy side pockets

Inside pockets and detailing

Patchwork Pocket

And room to spare!

Photo-bombed again!

Now let's see how much more I can squeeze in there!

 

Look What We Made - Shoulder Bag using Liberty of London & Linen Fabric

This bag surprised me to be honest, because I would not have chosen the Liberty of London Mrs Robinson print in these shades. But the linen really brings out the soft shades of lemon, teal and taupe, and the rich chocolate throughout. These colours are showcased in the top band through the positioning of half a sunflower, and mum did a great job with the rosette bow embellishment. The darker linen rosette adds depth, and the positioning of the bows give the bag an overall look of class and elegance.

 

Photo courtesy of Rhapsody and Thread

Photo courtesy of Rhapsody and Thread

Photo courtesy of Rhapsody and Thread

Look What We Made - Shoulder Bag using Liberty of London & Linen Fabric

Mum did an incredible job with this bag for me - don't you think?



Photo courtesy of Rhapsody and Thread

I'm just an apprentice at this stage so I cut the pieces out and helped with the design, but mum pulled everything together for me and I'm so proud. We matched the 100% linen with Liberty of London tana lawn in the Mistral Pink print.

And we had even more fun making the flower embellishment. I was inspired by the flower print, and mum embroidered hot pink streaks on the linen leaves. The navy fabric was once my grandmothers - it's very sheath or scarf-like and frayed well - I'm obsessed with frayed edges at the moment. It created a kind of fluffy look behind the button and flower. It's gorgeous.

Photo courtesy of Rhapsody and Thread

Inside there are 3 pockets including a mobile phone pocket. Mum added a fabric strip on the top of each pocket to add some colour and spice to the inside.

Photo courtesy of Rhapsody and Thread

And this picture of the back of the bag gives you a good view of the handles. I went for long shoulder straps to keep my hands free. We had considered structured handles but these fit more snuggly on the shoulder so I'm much happier.

 

Photo courtesy of Rhapsody and Thread

I used this bag for the first time today and I felt so proud of us. The fabric is soft and silky and it was really comfortable to wear. Happy days.