A New Make - Handmade Leather Zipped Clutch

Today, I happened into my sewing room and found myself tidying up. Little Bird had been using my machine last week for some Tech homework.  As I sat there clearing up the mess she'd left, I decided to embark on a little project of my own that I've been meaning to do for a while.

I bought a quite large piece of brown leather from a charity shop many moons ago for just £2.  It was big enough to make a small zipped clutch bag, so I decided to set about making one.  I found myself a zip from my stash, and although it didn't match exactly, it was a good enough match for me, more especially as it meant that I didn't have to go out and buy one.

I cut the leather into two rectangles and started to attach the zip to two of the sides.  Having watched the final of the Sewing Bee the other week, I utilised the technique of clipping the zip to the leather using small bulldog clips rather than pinning and marking the leather.  It worked well.  I'd bought myself some sewing machine needles for use with leather on a visit to a local market last year. They cost just £1 and worked really well.  I practiced on a scrap piece first, just to make sure, as this was the first time I'd sewn with leather.

I then sewed down and around the bottom of the two pieces of leather to make a simple, flat, zipped clutch.  It was a bit tricky to get through all the layers of leather and zip at either end of the bag fastening, but it didn't turn out too badly for a first attempt.  I trimmed up the leather inside to help me to turn it out and I was quite happy with the result.

As there were quite a few offcuts, I decided to try to make a tassle to attach to the zip as a bit of extra detail. It was really easy to make and I held it together with another bulldog clip before finally securing it with strong glue.

It's by no means perfect but I like it and feel happy to be making again.  Here's a picture of the finished result.

Even if I don't want to use it as a clutch, I can always use it for makeup or travel document pouch.