Clutch Bag Sewing Workshop

A few weeks ago I went to a sewing workshop at Tea and Crafting in Camden, to learn to sew a clutch bag with a metal frame. I adore this style of bag, and since I took my beginner's sewing class I've wanted to have a go at making something like this, but didn't think my skills were strong enough to be let loose at a pattern on my own! So I decided to opt for a bit of supervision whilst I made my bag....

 We cut our pieces from the fabric - I chose a blue polka dot heavy cotton for the outside, and a grey squiggly patterned lighter cotton for inside, plus pieces from felt to bulk up and stiffen the bag so it would fill the metal frame. Our teacher showed us what order to stitch the pieces together - it was a fairly simple process actually and the sewing took almost no time at all once we had it figured out! The hardest part by far (well, for me anyway!) was glueing the fabric bag into the actual frame. I got glue all over myself, which I'm used to of course, and luckily avoided getting any on the fabric! But two and a bit hours later and we each had a finished clutch bag!

We were given the pattern template plus the instructions to take home so we can make more if we like. The teacher also explained how to adapt the pattern easily to fit different size frames. I'm really excited to make more of these cuties, and think I'll definitely be whipping some up for gifts! Have any of you guys been making anything recently, or learnt anything new? If you're ever looking for a fun new skill to learn then I definitely recommend check out Tea and Crafting as they always have fun new classes listed, in everything from crochet, to sewing, to jewellery making.