Thoughtful gifts

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Linda Matthews

Tea Wallet I don’t think anything comes close to receiving a gift that’s been handmade. It says you care enough to take time out of your busy day to make something really personal and meaningful.

And on this particular day which is called Black Friday here in the US, being the day after Thanksgiving when all the stores have insane sales, I’m staying safely tucked away at home, avoiding the consumer madness, and catching up on a little sewing.

One of the items I’ll be making is this totally cute Tea Wallet. As a tea lover myself, this strikes me as one of those thoughtful gifts; just perfect for the tea lover in your life.

I’ve just added it to my Free Purse, Bag & Tote website and you can find the listing here.

Happy sewing everyone!

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Cuteness alert

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Linda Matthews

I haven’t been able to get much sewing done lately (you know I suffer withdrawals if I can’t get to sew on a regular basis). But I did find a little time to make a couple of small zippered pouches which turned out quite well I think. And the best thing is they only took about an hour. I love small projects!

I used a photo of my new grandson Jake, added some photoshop touch ups, then printed it on fabric to make these two different styles.

Printing on Fabric

I kinda like this one.

Printing on Fabric

But I think I like this one the best.

Printing on Fabric

I’m going to use these for organizing stuff in my handbag; they’re just the right size at about 4.1/2″ x 7″. I always worry about using white fabric in or around my handbag (unspeakable things lurk in there) but these are fully washable so I think they’ll be fine. Plus I think I’ll make another couple for family gifts – the perfect weekend project!

Printing on Fabric

I hope you find a little time this weekend for some quick projects. And if you’re looking for some quick sewing projects to use for gifts, I’ve just added a couple of new listings to the Free Purse, Bag & Tote Tutorials website – There’s a wristlet which you can find here, and a couple of small triangular coin purses that are so cute, I think I’m going to have to make some myself! You can find them here.

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Upcycled Purse Tutorials

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Linda Matthews

I am *loving* my new “Free Purse, Bag & Tote Tutorials” website, if for no other reason than you can now browse and find things easily. This means that it’s not only easy to find a free tutorial for a certain type of purse or bag, but it also makes it a great source of inspiration.

For instance, I was recently looking for some inspiration for upcycling a piece of old clothing. I loved the fabric and didn’t want to throw it out, and was in fact kind of inspired by this seller on Etsy who upcycled men’s suits into fabulous bags, purses and accessories.

Upcycled Purse Tutorials

And this one

Upcycled Purse Tutorials

And even this one!

Upcycled Purse Tutorials

While the free tutorials I’ve got listed aren’t quite so detailed or intricate, you can still find some good inspiration. The easiest way to find things is to head over the website, scroll down to the bottom, and pick a tag from the tagcloud.

So clicking on the “upcycled” tag brings up all these listings which is a nice selection to choose from!

Upcycled Purse Tutorials

If you’re in the mood for a little upcycling, here’s the direct link. Enjoy!

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Free Purse, Bag & Tote Tutorials

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Linda Matthews

I’ve been working a new project for quite some time and I’m so glad to say it’s finally finished!

As you know I LOVE making bags and purses, and for the last several years I’ve been regularly updating my listings for free purse, bag and tote patterns and tutorials but the list has gotten so large (over 320 links to date) that it was getting difficult to manage them all on this website, so I’ve been investigating a better way to present them to you and as it turns out, the best way was to give them a home of their own!

You can now find all my listings for free purse, bag and tote tutorials
on my brand new website at
www.free-purse-bag-tote-tutorials-patterns.com

On the new website you will now find lots of different ways to browse and search the listings and the best place to start is visit the “Browse Listings” page.

Also note that I won’t be updating the listings here on this blog any more, so if you want to be notified when new listings are added (which I can now do more frequently thanks to the new setup) the best way to do that is to sign up for the blog email on the new website. You can find the sign-up form here on the sidebar of the new site. This is a different subscriber list to the blog email on this website so all you will be receiving is updates to new listings.

I’ve just updated the listings so there’s a bunch of new links available and you can find them if you head over to the new website and scroll down to the bottom where the archives are listed. Look for the Archives for November 2011.

You’ll find the new website here and make sure to let me know if you like it by leaving a comment. Enjoy!

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Purse, Tote and Handbag Tutorials Updated

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Linda Matthews

Looking for a new purse or tote just in time for the weekend? Then look right here. I’ve just added another batch of links to my free purse, tote and bag listings. I’m now listing over 300 links to free tutorials. Can you believe that there’s that many different ways to make a bag?

Pick a purse, thread your sewing machine, and have a great weekend!

You’ll find all the links here.

Free Purse Patterns