Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Guest Blogger - Artfully Caroline - Anthropologie Knock-off Farfalle Bag

Good morning Michelle,
Good morning Everyday and Someday Crafters!



My name is Caroline. I'm a wife, working mom, compulsive crafter and for the past year , a blogger. My little blog is called:








Creating is my therapy to stay happy in a very busy life. Juggling family, marriage, household and work is a complicated balancing act. It takes a bit of organization to save some "Me" time to blog and craft. Here are a few of my latest creations:








I'm very excited to guest post for Michelle with my latest handbag creation. A few months ago I fell in love with this Anthropologie handbag:





















The Farfalle Handbag





Did you know that Farfalle means butterfly in italian? Unfortunately, three-hundred dollars purse, even this cute, does not fit in my budget. No matter. I decided to make my own. Not in leather but in denim. And here's is how:

Supplies:
NOTE: Measurements account for 1/2inch sewing allowance around the sides and bottom seams
- Two pieces of 16x12&1/2 inch denim- new or upcycled (new will be stiffer than upcycled)
- Two 3x25 inch strips of denim for the handles
- Two pieces of 6x12&1/2 inch of your choice for the lining, cotton or satin
- One 2x3 inch piece of card stock for the bow template
- 43 to 48 2x3 inch rectangles of denim for the bows
- 1 yard of coordinating blue satin ribbon
- Fray Check
- Sewing machine and sewing supplies
- Glue gun and glue sticks
- Magnetic snap (optional)
- Extra material for inside pocket
- Medium weight interfacing (optional)


How-to steps:



  • Round the edges of your card stock for the bow template

  • Use the bow template to cut the pieces needed for the bows and apply fray check on the edges


  • Make an accordion with 4 fold "peaks" on the side that will be up




  • With a matching thread, secure the fold by threading through the folds twice


  • Secure with a knot





  • Cut the pieces of matching ribbon for the center of the bows (1.5" long)


  • Put a dab of hot glue on the back of the bow tucks





  • Put the end of the ribbon on the hot glue let it cool for a couple of minutes


  • Put another dab of hot glue on the end of the ribbon and fold over





  • You will need roughly the same number of light and dark bows


  • You will save time by stitching all the bows then applying the ribbons in batch of 6-8 bows






Make the bag shell - I didn't make a detailed tutorial for this part as there are a number of very good existing ones around the blogosphere. There is a very detailed one HERE.





  • Cut the fabric pieces for the outside shell and the lining


  • Sew the outer shell and the lining for a basic bag.



  • Tuck in the top corners of the outer shell as shown on the picture below i.e. 2" wide x 3" tall

  • Pin the sides and bottom of the shell


  • Optional step : add one or 2 inside pockets to the lining





  • Add a pin a the corner of your tuck


  • Top stitch the fold all the way around





  • Once top stitched, the outer shell should look as shown below


  • Optional step : fuse the interfacing to the outer shell




  • Pin the lining and outer shell right sides together along the top of the bag lining up the side seam


  • Don't forget you will need a hole in the bottom of the lining to turn the bag right side out







  • Stitch along the bag opening with a 3/4" seam allowance and turn the bag right side out


  • Optional - Place a magnetic snap for the bag's closure using the 3/4" fold of denim as support


  • Close the opening in the lining of the bag





  • Cut and fold the straps for the bag as shown - first in half, then fold the edges in like for bias tape


  • Tuck the short edges in


  • Top stitch all sides of each strap





  • Pin the straps about 1 1/2" from the top corners


  • Stitch the handles on the bag





  • Layout the bows evenly on the front side of the bag alternating dark and light ones


  • For the layout below you need 43 bows (21 light and 22 dark) 5 across by 9 high (minus 2 at the top corners)

  • You will need more 5 bows for a tighter layout






  • Put a dab of hot glue on each side of the center ribbon


  • Secure all bows to the bag's outer shell








All done - Good news, it cost under $20 even with new denim and interfacing














Thanks again Michelle for having me over.


I hope you liked this project and will take the time to visit my blog




THANKS, Caroline! What an awesome knock-off! The bag is simply adorable! Visit Artfully Caroline today and take a look around at all the goodies she's made!


5 comments:

  1. That's really cute Caroline!! I love all the little bows! It would be so fun in a pretty gray and yellow too for summer. Thanks for the great tutorial!

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  2. I love it Caroline! I love pasta, and this definitely reminds me of it. I think if I made one I'd call it my pasta purse! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. So adorable! Thanks for taking the time to show us how you did it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful, beautiful! Definitely going on my to-do list :) Thanks for the tutorial!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment. I always like to know what you think of the projects I highlight!

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