Future Projects Friday: Purse tutorials

It's Friday (TGIF) and it's time for Future Projects Friday where I feature a few Pinterested tutorials that I might want to make! This week, I thought I would feature some cute purse tutorials that come with FREE (jazz hands) pattern pieces you can print out from your home computer. Who doesn't love a cute purse? Also, these make wonderful gifts for friends, bridesmaid gifts or a gift to yourself!

1. Buttercup Bag tutorial from the blog, Made by RAE:

[ photo credit: http://www.made-by-rae.com/2009/02/free-buttercup-bag-sewing-pattern/ ]

I cannot gush enough over how cute & practical this bag is. Once again, I must confess that I have already made this bag (TWICE!!)- one for my good friend Jessie and then another for myself--once I saw how adorable it was in person, I needed one too! I absolutely love the fabric choice used in the tutorial and a heavier fabric for the outer part of the bag is a must, to give it that extra structure.

 [ buttercup bag made for my BFF Jessie ]

[ buttercup bag I made for myself! ]

 This pattern is very easy to follow and good for all levels of sewers. For both of the bags that I made, I used a heavier, canvas for the outer fabric and lined it with a quilting cotton. I think an even heavier fabric would work very well, although sometimes my sewing machine is not a fan of super bulky fabrics.

2. A modified Charlie Bag from Very Purple Person:

 [ photo credit: http://verypurpleperson.com/2010/04/making-reversible-bag/ ]

This is a great pattern for a reversible bag- two bags for the price of one project! I love the look of this bag and I am actually in the process of constructing it! I ran into one issue: the fabric I selected for the lining was not wide enough! I am bummed too because the fabric is such a cute design! For this pattern, you want to use home decor fabrics, which are wider and accommodate the pattern pieces. Also, make sure that the pattern is not 'scaled to shrink' when you print it or the patterns will not come out the right size. Thankfully, she provides a nifty 4x4 box for you to ensure that your pattern pieces printed out at the correct size!

3. The Diana Hobo bag from think liz.:

[ photo credit: http://thinkliz.com/2009/02/20/diana-hobo-free-pattern/ ]

 It is my personal opinion that one cannot have too many bags... my closet is a testament to this. This is a super cute hobo bag that is similar in style to the buttercup bag above, but larger. I think one of the things I like about making larger bags is the ability to feature larger scale print fabrics, which don't work on smaller bags.  This bag looks like it would be a great 'around the town' kind of bag!

4. Mrs. Langley's Tote bag from The Hip Home Ec Teacher:

[ photo credit: http://thehiphomeecteacher.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/mrs-langleys-tote-bag-sewing-pattern-free/ ]

Who doesn't love a good tote bag? These are great for traveling, carrying all your stuff to work, gifts for friends etc. This bag looks super cute and I love that it has a snap closure. I really like how she used the two different fabric prints. Also, how awesome is it that this tutorial comes from a home ec teacher's blog?!?! I took sewing all four years of high school and had an absolutely wonderful teacher who let me go off and do my own thing since I already knew how to sew : )

Hope you guys have a great weekend! Happy sewing!