Creating a clutch

8:12 pm Kristine made a basic envelope snap clutch with some crystal embellishments in about an hour and a half.  It has been both fun and interesting to watch my sister show me what she does everyday.  I am inspired by her ability to make amazing pieces all while doing what she loves.

8:12 pm Kristine places the lining inside of the leather and topstitches the top edge.  The lining is now secured.  She drops it into the bag and the bag is COMPLETE!

8:08 pm Using a very thick hand sewing needle, Kris will now sew crystals in different sizes and shapes onto the flap.  She tells me this is purely for decoration.  For the sake of this demonstration, she only sews on one of the crystals.  At a later date she will go back and sew the rest to finish the bag.

8:07 pm Kristine inserts the snap into the leather. 

7:56 pm I always knew my sister was talented, but I am still amazed at how well she has put together this bag in such a short amount of time.  Not to mention, she's doing this out of our basement.

7:54 pm With the needle replaced, Kristine has finished sewing the leather pieces together.  She will now sew the lining together.  This will be easier and quicker, she tells me, because it's fabric as opposed to leather. 

7:47 pm Kristine laughs and tells me that because she was rushing she broke the needle.  She will need to replace the needle which will set her back about five minutes.

7:36 pm Kristine is about to sew the seams of the front and back of the leather to each other.  This will take about 15-20 minutes she tells me, so stay tuned readers!

7:35 pm With double stick tape, Kris tapes the felt to the leather on the inside.

7:26 pm Using a skiving machine Kris thins out the edges of the leather.  I ask her why this is done and she says it guarantees that the seems will not be bulky.  NOTE: Kristine is kind of rushing this project for the sake of demonstration and time.  If she were making this bag for purposes other than to demonstrate to me she would be taking more time she tells me.

7:20 pm Kristine uses the original pattern (the one without the allowance) for tracing onto the felt.  She then proceeds to cut the felt in this pattern.

7:15 pm The leather cutting is a little difficult.  I'm amazed how well my sister works with her tools and how natural this seems to her.  She now traces the pattern (the one with the allowance) onto the twill fabric and cuts those out as well.

7:06 pm Kristine traces the new pattern pieces (which contain seam allowance) on to the leather and then proceeds to cut the front and back piece from the leather with the exacto knife.

7:02 pm Kristine traces both pieces onto new pattern paper and adds a quarter of an inch for seam allowance on each.  I ask her why she needs the seem allowance.  It's important to cut seam allowance, she explains, because when you sew the two pieces together some of the fabric will be lost in the seam.  You need to account for this when creating the pattern and cutting the fabric or else the bag will be smaller than intended, Kristine tells me.

7:00 pm Kristine adds 8 inches to the top of the pattern she just drew for the back side of the bag.  This will be the fold-over flap of the clutch. Kris has now created both a front and back piece for the bag.

6:54 pm She now traces this shape on another flattened and scored piece of pattern paper.  This will eventually become the back of the bag.

6:53 pm Kristine cuts the newly drawn pattern from the scored pattern paper with the exacto knife.  She unfolds the scored paper.  In doing so, what has been cut to one side is cut symmetrically to the other.

6:50 pm Kristine has pre-drawn a sketch of the bag she wants to make.  She now draws half of that shape on the scored pattern paper.  The scored paper has a fold and Kris is only drawing on the top side of the folded paper.

6:48 pm Kristine begins by cutting the pattern paper, which comes on a large roll.  She then straightens/flattens the paper with her ruler.  She then begins to score the paper.  I had no idea what scoring was, so I asked her to explain and included a link above to better explain it for my readers.

6:46 pm Kristine has pre-purchased leather (for the outside of the clutch), felt (for the layer in between), and a twill fabric (for the lining of the bag).  She has also purchased thread, crystals of various shapes and sizes (for embellishing the clutch), and a snap, which will be used to shut the clutch.  Kristine owns pattern paper, an aluminum ruler, an exacto knife and a pencil among many of her other art supplies from school and work.