Bow clutch tutorial

bow clutch tutorial

hey there friends. I am so honored that Amanda let me borrow her space on the internet today.
I have a really fun and easy sewing tutorial I wanted to share with you.
it only takes a small amount of fabric and basic sewing skillz!
nothing fancy around these parts!

supplies needed:
scissors/rotary blade
3 fabrics
thread
sewing machine
fusible interfacing
iron
button (optional)

what to cut from fabric:

cut 1 lining fabric: 15 x 11
cut 1 exterior fabric: 15 x 11
cut 1 exterior fabric: 2 x 4
cut 1 exterior fabric 2 x 12
cut 1 bow fabric color: 14 x 10
(interface the back of all pieces)
I use a 1/4 ” seam allowance

(exterior and lining fabric cut to size)

(i like to leave a 1/4″ border around my fabric that does not have interfacing, personal preference, not important!)

take your bow fabric and place right sides together length wise
sew along long edge

iron the seam open

you have created a tube, turn it right side out, iron flat with seam in back.
find the center of your tube and pinch it together. place a pin to hold in place

sew a line down the center where you pinched

now we are going to make the center fabric for your bow.
take your 2 x 4 piece of fabric. sew right sides together, just like you did for the bow
iron seam open
now for the tricky part, turning the tube right side out
since it’s so narrow, it can be hard to do this with your finger
I recommend using a safety pin for this part.
follow the steps below for turning with a safety pin…

once it’s turned iron it flat
with the seam facing up lay your tube flat on the table
now take your bow, seam side facing up, and place it on the center of the tube
wrap the tube around the bow, pin in place
take your 2 x 4 piece of fabric. sew right sides together, just like you did for the bow
iron seam open
now for the tricky part, turning the tube right side out
since it’s so narrow, it can be hard to do this with your finger
I recommend using a safety pin for this part.
follow the steps below for turning with a safety pin…

sew along each outer edge of the center fabric to secure it to your bow

now pin your completed bow to top of your exterior fabric

sew close to the outer edges of the bow (no need to back stitch)
sew down the center of the bow (back stitch here)

take your lining fabric and exterior fabric and pin rights sides together.

you are going to sew all 4 sides
make sure to leave a 3-4 inch opening on the side opposite of the bow
this is for turning the clutch right side out.

clip corners

turn fabric right side out
push out corners
and iron flat
make sure to tuck open fabric in and iron nice

the end that has the opening we are going to top stitch closed

we are almost done friends..
we are going to make your wrist-let strap now
you will take your 2 x 12 fabric and follow the instructions for the bow center fabric
expect once it’s flipped and ironed
you will top stitch the fill length of on each side of the strap

fold your main body to look like a clutch adjusting where the fold will be
once you have it how you like
pin the handle in place
then pin the opposite side to prevent it from moving while sewing
follow the arrows below to see where to sew
you want to make sure to sew the handle in well.
I back over it a few times, even zig zag stitch over it sometimes.

you could be finished here

but your clutch may open and spill all your contents!
i recommend adding a button closure
find the placement of where your button will fit best and
sew it in place. (make sure not to sew your pocket shut!)

now sew a button hole on the top on the under the center of the bow
if you are like me and button wholes scare you
i have a cheater way to do it
using your smallest zig zag stitch make a line a little long then the length of your button
go back and forth over this like 5-6 times
with your needle in the fabric turn it 90 degrees and make a small little line going over it 5-6 time again
continue until you have created a square
now use your seam ripper or an exacto knife to scissors if you must
and cut down the center of your square
a perfect button hole!
YEAH