A few months ago, my MIL who works for an upscale furniture store gave us a few rolls of beautiful leather. They've been sitting in the basement unused. Yesterday, I decided to make myself an oversized clutch. I made a few minor mistakes here and there but overall, I like the way it turned out. I was going to do a video for you guys but I know it'll take a long time to get it done. No video this time but I hope my pictures make sense. If you have any questions, I am more than happy to answer them.
What you'll need:
- 18x24 poster board
- 2 pieces of foam (for the lining)
- A bunch of binder clips
- Fabric glue
- Magnetic snap
- A cute button
This is the dimensions of my clutch (18 inches wide and 8 1/2 inches high). I draw all my measurements on the poster board and cut it to the actual size. You can adjust whatever size suits your preference. I used my husband's razor blade for all my cuttings. Razors work much better and faster than scissors
Glue 2 pieces of foam onto one side of the drawing. You can buy a bigger piece of foam but my store ran out of them. 2 pieces work just fine for me. After you glued them together, wait a few minutes for the glue to dry then cut the excess foam off. One side of your drawing is now poster board and the other side is foam.
Now, it's time to glue the leather (or vinyl) onto the poster side of your clutch. After the glue has dried, cut the leather 3/4 inches larger all around than the drawing. Then you want to fold in the excess leather, glue and use the binder clips to secure. Wait about 15 minutes for the glue to dry then fold 2 flaps together and glue again.
Now it's time to put in your magnetic snap and your button. You can be done at this point. However, I'd like to add a bit of character to my clutch by adding leather trim all around. At first, I wanted to sew decorative stitches around my clutch but my sewing machine couldn't handle the thickness of the leather. After breaking 2 needles, I gave up. I went to the store and bought a roll of leather trim. I used the same fabric glue and glued the leather trim around the outline of the clutch.
This is the final product. It took me about 3 hours from start to finish. I am happy with the way it turned out (even with a few minor mistakes). I am thinking about making another bright one for summer. You don't have to use leather, vinyl should be just fine. I hope you enjoy the tutorial. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment.
Have a great week!
Sydney
