craftgrrl | semi-circle purse with tutorial

i made one of these on a whim
last week, and it turned out
being more popular than i
expected...so, here's a tutorial
so you can have one too!

#1 - Fabric & Shape

Sturdy cotton goodness (i know a lot of us love this Mod About You print!)

a bowl. i chose a Steel-Tek mixing bowl that i prefer to put popcorn in. any size bowl will do!

snaps and attatcher. don't have any? velcro may be your answer!

#2 - Cutting & Measuring

Place the bowl half way on to your fabric (make sure to line up your edges so you only have to cut once!) i don't have any method of finding the center of the bowl, i just eyeballed it.

trace, and cut carefully. you now have two pieces of the purse, yay!

measure the curved edge. mine some how came out to a perfect 15 inches (which will yeild a small size).

+ decide how wide you'd like your purse. i chose 3 inches. cut one rectangle as long as the curve, and as wide as you prefer (15"x3" for this one in particular). this piece will be the bottom.
+ now we need a strap! for this size, i want my strap to be 24" long. so i cut one (1) long rectangle: 24"x3" (edit: i should have made it wider - i wasn't thinking!). cut an extra 4"x3" for the closure while you're here.

using one of the already cut semi circles as a pattern, cut four (4) semi circles [two of lining fabric, two interfacing], and two (2) bottom pieces [same as earlier]. you should now have six (6) semi circles, three (3) bottom pieces, one (1) strap, and one (1) closure. now you should have a total of 11 pieces ready to go.

#3 - Putting it Together
+ Starting with that squirelly strap, fold longways, right sides together, and stitch the entire length. turn inside out. i find that this step goes by a lot faster if you mumble at the fabric. after turning, press.

with the little bit that will be the closure, do the same, but finish off one of the ends so it'll look pretty when right side out. turn, and press.

assemble the shell and liner its best to take it slow. i suggest starting in the middle of the curve.. stitch the interfacing to the shell right now. if you are going to be fancy and add pockets, now is your last chance! leave an unfinished hole in the liner!!!!

make snaps (or velcro!)! put the male snap on the little closure bit that is already done, and estimate where the female piece will go. my suggestion is in the center of the shell (one of the semi circles) about an inch or so away from the top edge. make sure that it is on the correct side of the shell before continuing.

turn the shell inside out, trim any exess fabric now. lay the strap inside, match up the edges - pin. eyeball where to put the closure bit (make sure it is opposite of the female peice! if they are on the same side, all you will have is a loop) - pin. lay the liner inside. make sure that the right side of the liner is touching the right side of the shell. nothing should be sticking out now, sew all around the edge.